FirstCry: Bold Ambition Meets Relentless Execution

As we reflect on FirstCry's journey to its stock market debut, we are overwhelmed with admiration and nostalgia for what Supam, Amitava and the entire FirstCry team have achieved.

We met the team for the first time in early 2011, just months after FirstCry launched its platform. Our initial attempts to reach out to Supam and Amitava, via LinkedIn went unanswered. We then tried our luck and called FirstCry's customer support number, which, fortunately for us, was answered by Amitava. The call got us really interested and we quickly set up an in-person meeting with Supam in Mumbai.

In that meeting, from the moment Supam began speaking, we were captivated. His energy and passion were palpable, and his vision for FirstCry was very ambitious. He had built and sold a company earlier but this time, he was dreaming much, much bigger.

The debrief after the meeting was short. We were convinced that Supam was a special entrepreneur and someone we had to partner with. Thankfully, he was also keen to partner with us. We went from the first meeting to signing the term sheet within 48 hours. And that was the start of what has been a really inspiring and fulfilling partnership.

Looking back, we can divide FirstCry's journey into three distinct phases, each marked by its own set of challenges and triumphs.

First Steps

The first phase was characterized by competition amongst multiple vertical players, both venture-funded and those part of large corporate groups. In that early sprint, Supam and the team’s superior execution muscle started to shine through.

They made the crucial decision to stock all their products in their own warehouses (instead of drop-shipping), a move that set them apart from competitors. They were also the first vertical e-commerce player to build their own logistics. This strategy allowed them to faster, more reliable deliveries and a superior customer experience, that too at a lower cost.

They also set up a very strong sourcing team in China to bring unparalleled selection to consumers. Within a couple of years, it was very clear that FirstCry was by far the strongest player in this vertical but their toughest test was yet to come.

David vs Goliath

The second phase, one of the most challenging in FirstCry's journey, began around 2013-2014 when horizontal e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon launched their baby and kids verticals. This period was marked by existential questions about the viability of vertical players in the face of extremely well-funded, horizontal platforms. The specter of consolidation loomed large, with examples like Amazon's acquisition of diapers.com in the US and Flipkart's purchase of Myntra in India.

It was during this phase that we truly witnessed the depth of Supam's resilience and strategic acumen. Borrowing from Ben Horowitz's philosophy, Supam understood that there was no silver bullet to solve their challenges. Instead, he focused on firing multiple "lead bullets" – incremental improvements and strategic moves that collectively built formidable moats around FirstCry's business.

One of these moves was the introduction of private-label products, starting with the BabyHug brand. This move allowed FirstCry to fill a crucial gap in the market between premium brands and unbranded products, offering a very wide selection of high-quality products at competitive prices. Today, BabyHug is India's largest multi-category baby and kids brand by a distance.

Omnichannel is a buzzword today, but FirstCry pioneered this approach, embracing offline retail through franchisees across the country. This strategy not only helped them reach customers who preferred in-store shopping experiences but also boosted their online business. When a customer walks into a FirstCry store, their tendency to buy online from FirstCry in the future increases, thus creating a virtuous cycle between their online and offline channels.

They opened up their logistics network to third-party customers and transformed it from a cost-centre to a profit-centre. What started as an in-house initiative to reduce costs eventually evolved into XpressBees, which under Amitava’s leadership, today is amongst India’s largest logistics companies.

Coming of Age

The third phase of FirstCry's journey began with a substantial investment from SoftBank in 2019. This capital, for the first time, gave Supam the firepower to really pursue his ambitious dreams. FirstCry doubled down on brand-building, invested in deeper vertical integration (including manufacturing), and kickstarted their international expansion journey. They also launched GlobalBees, a house of brands, demonstrating their ambition to grow beyond their core baby and kids' products focus. GlobalBees now contributes to 18% of FirstCry revenues.

Throughout this journey, three qualities of Supam really stood out for us: his insane ambition, relentless execution and an unwavering commitment to frugality. This ambition, which was apparent even on day one, has translated into the creation of three category-defining companies - FirstCry, XpressBees and GlobalBees. His relentless execution ensured that FirstCry consistently deepened moats and won against much larger competitors, and today is one of the largest and most-loved retail platforms in India. And the frugal DNA enabled them to get here in a very capital-efficient manner.

We vividly remember an anecdote from their office in Pune. Above every employee's desk, there were individually controlled lights - a small but significant detail. Supam's office was on the sixth floor, and at the end of every day, he would personally walk down each floor, checking if any lights were left on and switching them off. It was a powerful, symbolic gesture, a very simple way of saying that every rupee matters. This approach is reminiscent of Jeff Bezos in Amazon's early days, famously using a door as his first desk. This culture of frugality has been crucial in navigating the low-margin retail sector, allowing FirstCry to thrive where others might have faltered.