FirstCry
Corporate brand
UnclaimedIndian omnichannel retailer specializing in baby, maternity and children's products.
Last updated August 22, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
FirstCry is the consumer-facing retail brand of BrainBees Solutions Limited, an Indian company focused on products for infants, expectant mothers, young children and families. The business began in 2010 as FirstCry.com, an online marketplace and retailer founded by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha. Its original proposition was to make a broad range of baby-care, maternity and children's merchandise available through a specialized digital store rather than through general e-commerce sites. The company expanded beyond online retail in 2011, when it began developing a franchise-led physical-store network. The early offline rollout emphasized Tier-2 and Tier-3 Indian cities and towns, allowing FirstCry to combine a national assortment with local retail access. Over time, the business adopted an omnichannel model incorporating its website, mobile application and physical stores. The stores operate primarily under the FirstCry and BabyHug names, and the network has grown to more than 1,000 locations according to the referenced company description. FirstCry's assortment covers baby and children's clothing, footwear, diapers, feeding and nursing products, strollers, car seats, nursery goods, toys, books, personal-care items and maternity wear. The company also sells products from international and Indian consumer brands alongside its own labels. BabyHug, introduced in 2013, became an important private-label clothing brand within the portfolio. This combination of third-party merchandise and owned brands enables FirstCry to provide a wide assortment while developing proprietary products in categories such as apparel and everyday child-care goods. The company's growth has included both organic expansion and acquisitions. In 2016, it acquired BabyOye from the Mahindra Group in a stock-swap transaction. The combination expanded the company's store base and brought the BabyOye business into the FirstCry operating structure. In 2019, FirstCry acquired Oi Playschool, extending its activities beyond product retail into early-childhood education. The same year, it began operating in the United Arab Emirates, followed by entry into Saudi Arabia in 2022. These moves gave the company an international presence while keeping its principal market and operating base in India. FirstCry also developed distribution and institutional relationships. In 2015, it reported partnerships with more than 5,000 hospitals, reflecting an effort to reach parents through maternity and healthcare-related channels as well as through direct retail. Its positioning is that of a specialized, one-stop mother-and-child retailer, with convenience, category breadth, branded merchandise, private labels and a mix of online and offline purchasing options. BrainBees Solutions completed an initial public offering in 2024, and its shares began trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on 13 August 2024. The listing changed the company's status from a privately held venture-backed business to a publicly traded Indian retail company. FirstCry remains active in the mother, baby and children's retail sector, with India as its core market and selected operations in the Middle East.
History
FirstCry was established in 2010 by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha. The founders launched FirstCry.com as an online specialist retailer for baby-care, maternity-care and children's products. Its initial digital model addressed the difficulty of finding a large, organized assortment of age-specific products through conventional retail. Rather than limiting itself to a narrow private label, the platform offered merchandise from multiple Indian and international brands. In 2011, FirstCry moved into physical retail through franchise-owned stores. The initial store strategy focused on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and towns, where specialist mother-and-child retail could complement the online channel. This became the foundation of the company's omnichannel model: customers could browse and order digitally while also accessing branded stores, local service and product demonstrations. The business subsequently operated through its website, mobile application and a large store network under the FirstCry and BabyHug names. The company introduced BabyHug as a private-label clothing brand in 2013. The label strengthened FirstCry's control over design, assortment and pricing in children's apparel and later became one of the most visible brands associated with the retail platform. FirstCry continued to carry external brands, using a hybrid assortment of owned and third-party merchandise. By 2015, the company reported distribution partnerships with more than 5,000 hospitals, indicating an effort to build institutional and referral channels around maternity and infant-care needs. Acquisitions became an important part of the company's development. In 2016, FirstCry acquired BabyOye, a baby-products business owned by the Mahindra Group, through a stock-swap transaction. The combined entity had more than 300 stores and operated under the transitional description “FirstCry.com - a FirstCry Mahindra Venture.” The transaction consolidated two specialist baby-product retail operations and expanded FirstCry's physical presence. In 2019, FirstCry acquired Oi Playschool. This broadened the company's relationship with families beyond product purchasing and into preschool and early-childhood services. That year also marked the beginning of international operations in the United Arab Emirates. FirstCry later entered Saudi Arabia in 2022, creating a Middle Eastern extension to a business still centered on India. The company became publicly traded in 2024. BrainBees Solutions completed an initial public offering, and its shares began trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on 13 August 2024. This represented a major structural transition from a privately held, venture-backed e-commerce company to a listed retail group. The public-company structure placed greater emphasis on disclosure, governance and the performance of both digital and store operations. FirstCry's current business is built around a broad mother-and-child retail proposition. Its assortment includes clothing, diapers, feeding products, nursery goods, toys, books, personal care, travel equipment and maternity products. The combination of FirstCry's marketplace, physical stores, private labels and selected international operations gives it a specialized position in Indian family retail. In 2025, an insolvency plea was reported against GlobalBees, a subsidiary associated with BrainBees Solutions. The filing was directed at the subsidiary and should not be treated as evidence that FirstCry itself had entered insolvency.
- 2024
Initial public offering and listing
[1]BrainBees Solutions completes an IPO and begins trading on India's Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on 13 August.
- 2022
Saudi Arabia entry
[1]The company expands its international operations to Saudi Arabia.
- 2019
Oi Playschool acquisition and UAE expansion
[1]FirstCry acquires Oi Playschool and begins operating in the United Arab Emirates.
- 2016
BabyOye acquisition
[1]FirstCry acquires BabyOye from the Mahindra Group through a stock-swap transaction.
- 2015
Hospital distribution network reported
[1]FirstCry reports distribution partnerships with more than 5,000 hospitals.
- 2013
BabyHug private label launches
[1]The company introduces BabyHug as its private-label clothing brand.
- 2011
Entry into offline retail
[1]FirstCry begins expanding through franchise-owned stores, initially concentrating on smaller Indian cities and towns.
- 2010
FirstCry.com is launched
[1]Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha launch an online retailer focused on baby-care, maternity-care and children's products.
Products and positioning
A specialized, omnichannel, one-stop retailer for mothers, babies and children, combining broad branded assortment, private labels and physical-store access across India.
E-commerce platform · 2010
FirstCry marketplace
The core FirstCry platform sells a broad selection of products for babies, children and mothers through the company website and mobile application. It combines owned brands with merchandise from Indian and international suppliers, covering apparel, diapers, feeding, nursery, travel, toys, books, personal care and maternity categories.
Specialty retail · 2011
FirstCry stores
The physical-store network extends FirstCry's online assortment into local retail. Stores provide access to clothing, baby-care essentials, toys, nursery products and maternity merchandise, and form part of the company's omnichannel model. The network operates under FirstCry and related brand formats across India and selected international markets.
Private-label children's apparel and products · 2013
BabyHug
BabyHug is FirstCry's private-label brand, introduced initially for children's clothing. It gives the company an owned assortment alongside third-party brands and is associated with apparel and other everyday products for babies and young children.
Baby-products retail business
BabyOye
BabyOye was a baby-products retail business acquired from the Mahindra Group in 2016. It was integrated into the FirstCry structure as part of the transaction that combined the businesses and expanded the resulting store footprint.
Early-childhood education
Oi Playschool
Oi Playschool became part of the FirstCry group through a 2019 acquisition. The business extended FirstCry's family-oriented activities into preschool and early-childhood education rather than product retail alone.
Brand decisions
2024
Complete public listingStrategyBackground
After years of operating as a privately held, venture-backed company, BrainBees Solutions pursued access to public equity markets.
Action taken
BrainBees Solutions completed an initial public offering and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on 13 August 2024.
Aftermath
FirstCry became the public-facing brand of a listed Indian retail company.
2019
Acquire Oi PlayschoolM&ABackground
FirstCry's customer base was centered on families with young children, creating a potential adjacency in early-childhood services.
Action taken
The company acquired Oi Playschool.
Aftermath
The acquisition broadened the group's activities into preschool and early-childhood education.
2016
Acquire BabyOyeM&ABackground
BabyOye was a competing baby-products business owned by the Mahindra Group.
Action taken
FirstCry acquired BabyOye through a stock-swap transaction and combined the businesses.
Aftermath
The merged entity had more than 300 stores and operated under a FirstCry-Mahindra venture description during the integration period.
2013
Launch BabyHug private labelProduct launchBackground
FirstCry carried products from multiple brands and sought a proprietary range in children's apparel.
Action taken
The company introduced BabyHug as a private-label clothing brand.
Aftermath
BabyHug became an owned brand within FirstCry's broader assortment.
2011
Adopt an omnichannel retail modelStrategyBackground
FirstCry initially operated as an online retailer but sought broader reach in India's smaller cities and towns.
Action taken
The company began opening franchise-owned physical stores while continuing to operate its digital platform.
Aftermath
The combined online and offline model became a defining feature of FirstCry's retail network.
Recent events
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/firstcry · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled