What is triggering the kidswear online retail sales?

Incepted in September 2010, Brainbees Solution, an Indian supplier for products targeted towards pregnant mothers, baby care, kids (FirstCry.com). FirstCry brings more than 800 national and international brands with over 90,000 unique product offerings. In a candid conversation, Supam Maheshwari, CEO and Founder, FirstCry.com shares industry insight and future prospects with its omni-channel presence model.

What is your brand’s USP and where do you foresee it in the years to come?

FirstCry.com works on an omni-channel presence model wherein it is present offline, online and on mobile. FirstCry has more than 100 franchise stores across India. We have built the brand to be ‘the ultimate destination’ for parents looking to buy products for their kids. There was a dearth of quality baby stores available in India in any city within a distance of five kilometers, thus we launched our offline store and are now expanding it further to fill the gap pan India. We plan to cross the count of 400 stores in India by 2017 and make shopping for kids an easy experience across all tiers.

Which out of the two, ‘Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs)’ or ‘Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs)’ is more in demand in terms of growth?

Considering the dearth of EBOs in the baby sector in India, the opportunity in MBOs looks promising. Parents are looking for more and more choices when shopping for their kids as they wouldn’t want to compromise on quality. Other than this, maximum variety that gives value for money is more desirable for parents. In such a scenario, MBOs are more suitable.

E-retailing plays a great role in the kids’ retail industry. What is your say? Elaborate on the future prospects.

With considerably improved infrastructure such as logistics and wider penetration of courier services in even smaller towns, coupled with rising disposable income levels of parents, the kids retailing market is gaining momentum.  Convenience of buying and home-delivery, discounts of up to 50 per cent and product reviews that help the customers take an easy decision, are also the factors that are triggering the growth of online kids’ retail market in the country. The opportunity for children's products has been present for long; it is the advent of specialty e-retail formats in the modern retail segment which has made the trend more visible. Considering the smart phone revolution and increased disposable income, parents today prefer buying things online to save on time and hassles of shopping through crowded market places. Thus we believe E-retailing in the kids retail has already made a mark in the minds of tech savvy and on the go parents and will further continue to establish in the market.

What is the market size of logistics service in India and how it has changed the scenario in the kids’ retail industry?

According to Industry reports logistics sector in India, which was worth $100 billion in 2014, will be worth $385 billion this year. The industry in India is evolving rapidly and it is the interplay of infrastructure, technology and new types of service providers that will define whether the industry is able to help its customers reduce their logistics costs and provide effective services. We set up Xpressbees to meet the demands of FirstCry.com, as traditional logistics companies could match neither the service level nor cost expectations. Urban India today is characterised by a nuclear family with double-income parents, who are willing to shell out the additional money on their children. Consequently, the spending on children’s apparel, with better brand image and quality, has received a significant boost. When it comes to buying clothes for the little ones, parents, especially mothers are the decision makers and are always looking for trendy basic & casual wear with little party or occasional wear. At the same time, Indian kids in both urban and semi-urban parts of the country are increasingly exposed to various media and are thus aware of brands which cater to them. They have also started participating actively in purchase decisions related to their apparel.

Which segment in kids’ retail category is offering great opportunity to the investors?

Our biggest strength is the width and depth of categories on our platform. Our category mix maps to the average buying behaviour of the Indian parent. Amongst all the categories, we are seeing a spurt in the demand for apparels and shoes as we manage to bring the largest variety in India in the baby and kids fashion space. Kids apparel is a market that is growing rapidly today. Trends in the market are fast changing. Increasing preference for branded apparel, rise in the disposable income of the people and the increasing influence of foreign culture is leading the industry to grow and thus the reason for investors to have a great opportunity.

Franchise facts