FirstCry.com raises $15 million

Vertex Venture Management, through one of its funds, led a $15 million investment into Brainbees Solutions Pvt Ltd, which owns the FirstCry.com brand.  Vertex is a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. Existing investors in the company IDG Ventures India and Saif Partners also participated in this third round of funding. Brainbees currently has four warehouses across India from where it ships products to its customers across 300+ towns and cities. The company also operates one of the largest supply-chain and logistics network in India. Additionally, it also has 50 FirstCry-branded franchisee stores across 45 cities.

Brainbees started operations in late 2010 and owns the FirstCry.com brand. Founders Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha said: “We are happy to have achieved the dominant position in the online baby and kids market and have expanded the FirstCry brand into other channels such as mobile and offline through franchisees across India.  We are delighted to have Vertex, an accomplished, deep-pocketed and expert Asian e-commerce investor, join us along with IDG and SAIF as investment partners in this round.”

According to Joo Hock Chua, Managing Director and CIO of Vertex Venture Management, “We have been highly impressed with FirstCry’s dominance in the online baby and kids market and look forward to leveraging our experience and expertise in hybrid online-offline business models from our investments and direct presence in other growing markets in Asia to help grow the company aggressively.”

Manik Arora, Founder and Managing Director of IDG Ventures India Advisors, said, “Since IDG’s investment, transactions have grown rapidly, strong loyalty metrics are evident, mobile offerings have been launched and 50 franchise stores are driving offline sales.  The company has demonstrated strong traction and we welcome Vertex to help with the next phase of growth”     

Ravi Adusumalli, Managing Partner of SAIF Partners said, “As early investors in Brainbees, we have seen the company go from strength to strength and achieve clear leadership in its vertical.”