FirstCry, the online retailer of baby products has reportedly raised $149.36 million (close to Rs 1,100 crore) from Japan’s SoftBank, reports VCCircle. This has also been inferred from the company’s statutory filings with the authorities that Brainbees Solutions, the company that owns and operates FirstCry is actually raising a much larger sum, $396.34 million (around Rs 2825 crore) from the same investor and this $150 million is just one tranche within this round of investment.
As for the valuation of the company, it is estimated that when this entire round of funding stands completed, it could just cross the $1 billion mark, making it a unicorn. Media has been reporting that FirstCry has been making attempts to close a large funding exercise for a very long time. Softbank’s plans to pick up a major chunk of shares in FirstCry too were part of these reports.
One of the highlights of the company’s earlier fund-raising exercises was the acquisition of BabyOye, a brand owned by the Mahindra 7 Mahindra Group. The 8-year-old startup counts a number of investors in its venture, which includes IDG Ventures, SAIF Partners and Valiant Capital Partners. Even Ratan Tata has picked up some stakes in the venture.
FirstCry sells a very large number of products in different categories meant for kids. These include feeding and nursing products, toys, clothes, footwear, diapering and fashion and so on. The number of SKUs on offer could be as high as 200,000. The business is operated on an O2O model with a significant offline presence across the country with 183 stores.
Though FirstCry is one of the most funded players in this segment, there has been a dip in the business in the baby products segment. Some have reportedly closed down even. The fresh funds may help the promoters of FirstCry push the company forward and put it on a faster growth trajectory.