Indian online retailer gets back-up

Indian baby products online vendor Firstcry is near to raising $15 million from Singapore’s Vertex Venture Holdings.

The new investment is planned for expansion offline to compete with the likes of Mahindra Retail’s Mom & Me and UK’s Mothercare.

Last year, Firstcry has also secured $14 million from IDG Ventures and SAIF Partners. Run by BrainBees Solutions, Firstcry offers more than 4000 baby and kids products and toys. It also has 15 bricks and mortar stores through a franchise network.

Temasek Holdings’ subsidiary Vertex Venture Holdings has invested in more than 350 companies since it was established in 1988.

According to Tarun Davda of Matrix Partners India, online retailers are expanding offline to enable shoppers to touch and feel products before buying. This trend is very common among furniture and jewellery retailers.

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