FirstCry's parent firm files DRHP; to raise Rs 1,816 crore via fresh issue

The Supam Maheshwari-led company proposes to utilise net proceeds from the offer towards funding the expenditure for setting up new modern stores, a warehouse and lease payments

Brainbees Solutions (FirstCry.com), India’s multi-channel retailing platform for newborns, mothers, and kids, has applied for an initial public offering (IPO) to set up modern stores and a warehouse, and to make lease payments for the stores it runs in the country.

It filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The Pune-based unicorn’s IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating Rs 1,816 crore and an offer for sale of more than 54 million equity shares.

The Supam Maheshwari-led company will use the money also to fund investment in its subsidiary, FirstCry Trading, to set up modern stores and warehouses in Saudi Arabia.

The capital will help fund investment in another subsidiary GlobalBees Brands, and the acquisition of additional stakes in its indirect subsidiaries. Other such initiatives include sales and marketing initiatives, technology and data science costs including cloud, and server hosting-related costs.

It will use the funds also for acquisitions and strategic initiatives as well as for general corporate purposes.

The offer for sale comprises more than 20 million equity shares by SVF Frog (Cayman) Ltd and above 2.8 million equity shares by Mahindra & Mahindra.

The FirstCry platform was launched in India in 2010 to create a one-stop destination for parenting needs across commerce, content, and community engagement. 

The multi-channel retailing platform includes FirstCry’s online platform accessible through the mobile application and website. This includes FirstCry modern stores comprising franchisee-owned and -operated modern stores, and company-owned and -operated modern stores as well as general trade retail distribution.

The company offers products in categories such as apparel, footwear, baby gear, nursery, diapers, toys, and personal care. As on June 30, 2023, it offered more than one million stock keeping units from over 6,800 brands.

As on June 30, 2023, the FirstCry mobile application was downloaded more than 104 million times in India. Further, it has a network of 936 FirstCry and BabyHug modern stores in 465 cities in 27 states and four Union Territories.

FirstCry’s revenue from operations jumped to Rs 5,632 crore during FY23 as against Rs 2,401 crore in FY22, according to Entrackr. Income from sales of products accounted for 98 per cent of the operating revenue, which surged 2.37 times to Rs 5,519 crore in FY23.

The losses for the SoftBank-backed firm went up 6.15 times to Rs 486 crore in FY23 as compared to Rs 79 crore in FY22.