FirstCry injects approximately 300 Cr into its wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Age Retail Private Limited (DARP).
Investments will be made through a subscription of DARP stocks in one or more tranches during an ongoing fiscal year
The funds consist of INR 254.6 Cr from the initial public offering (IPO) revenues and approximately 45 Cr from the content
Omni-Channel Retailers for Kids firstcry
Approximately 300 Cr is injected into its wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Age Retail Private Limited (DARP). It is engaged in the retail business of babies, children and maternity products.
The investment will be made through a subscription of DARP stock in one or more tranches for the ongoing fiscal year as part of our strategic expansion plan, FirstCry’s parent Brainbees said in the exchange application.
“We have approved the proposal to invest 2,99,59,91,448.02 on one or more tranches through a subscription to shares of the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Digital Age Retail Private Limited (DARP).” The company said in an exchange application.
Funds consist of INR 254.6 Cr Earnings from the first public offering (IPO) and about 45 cr from internal generation.
The company said the funds will be used to repay existing loans for 45 cr Brain Bee, establishing a new modern store and lease payments for existing identified modern stores. I stated.
In particular, as of December 2024, the company has approximately 1,136 modern stores (including company-operated and franchise stores), of which 508 are company-controlled stores.
It also for the first time operated 38 companies on FY25 quarter.
Supam Maheshwari, co-founder and CEO of FirstCry, said:
The company checked the share of pedestrians and wallets within certain store catchments. “After analyzing the data, we found that these 38 stores did not meet the desired performance level. This decision was not specific to one city or location, but rather to optimize the store network. It’s a strategic move, ensuring better efficiency in terms of location, size and overall performance,” Maheshwari said.
In answering the question, Maheshwari denied that the growing popularity of Quick Commerce is behind the store closure. He said that various factors could have been affected, particularly in metropolitan areas, including ongoing construction projects.
Additionally, he has identified the best pincodes for companies to open new stores using online data, but the physical layout of Indian pincodes is very broad and diverse in cities or towns. He explained that it could cover the area.
“In some cases, finding the right catchment area within that pincode can be a challenge and ensure that you have a store of the best size,” he said.
Slowing down international business?
whole, FirstCry’s integrated net loss narrowed 14.78 CR from INR 48.41 CR from 69.5% to INR 14.78 CR Q3 FY25, and 14.78 CR from INR 48.41 CR in the same period last year is attributed to strong top line growth.
2,172.30 cr increased 14.3%, up 14.3% from the 1,900.19 CR in the third quarter of 2024.
However, it appears that the company’s international business is facing headwinds. For the first nine months of fiscal 2023, total international business orders registered only a small growth of 15 million, from 14 million in the same period last year.
In a statement, FirstCry said Q3 saw an increase in promotional activity “by two horizontal e-commerce players who are new entrants in the region (UAE and KSA).
However, FirstCry has consciously stayed away from following this trend and continues to focus on achieving sustainable growth by improving margins.
“This is the same story we saw. In India, multiple horizontal players, including two recent participants, have entered the market. However, these focus on the baby and child segments. It’s not just about hitting, it’s difficult for horizontal players to succeed in the mother, baby and child categories, as multiple moats need to be built to maintain vertical play,” Maheshwari said. I’ve explained it.
The CEO said the company will continue to improve its strategy, acknowledging the increased competitiveness.
“We can’t make decisions based solely on a quarter or two quarters of our performance. This is exactly how we navigate the Indian market, and we have a longer horizon that has been created across the region. I’m confident in replicating it above,” he added.
FirstCry shares ended in trading session on Friday ahead of the third quarter results on Saturday (February 8th). 9.87% Lower at INR 417.9 on BSE.
