IPO UPDATE -First Cry
FirstCry is India’s largest multi-channel retailing platform for Mothers’, Babies’, and Kids’ products, in terms of GMV, for the year ending December 2023, according to the RedSeer Report, with a growing presence in select international markets. In India, they sell Mothers’, Babies’, and Kids’ products through their online platform, company-owned modern stores, franchisee-owned modern stores, and general trade retail distribution.
They seek to develop a tangible, emotional, multi-year relationship with parents, especially mothers, with whom their first engagement begins from their baby’s conception (i.e., nine months before birth) and can continue until their child reaches about 12 years of age. According to the RedSeer Report, childcare is a non-discretionary, essential expense, for which there is perpetual need. They operate in a retail category with high purchase frequency, in which children outgrow clothing sizes quickly and need consumables such as diapers and other baby products along with other needs that evolve with age. Thus, once parents establish a connection with them, they are likely to start a predictable and frequent transactional journey of about twelve years as their children grow.
They launched the FirstCry platform in India in 2010 to create a one-stop destination for parenting needs across commerce, content, community engagement, and education. They named their platform “FirstCry” because they believe that a baby’s first cry is a special moment for parents, and they aim to make such moments of the parenting journey filled with joy and happiness.
They have expanded internationally in select markets, establishing a presence in UAE and KSA in 2019 and 2022 respectively, where they aim to replicate their India playbook. According to the RedSeer Report, they are the largest specialist online Mothers’, Babies’, and Kids’ Product retail platforms in UAE, in terms of GMV, for the year ending December 2023. Further, in KSA, they are the largest online-first Mothers’, Babies’ and Kids’ product-focused retail platform, according to the RedSeer Report. After the UAE, they aim to replicate our India playbook in KSA.