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<ul><li><keyword id="933856" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brainbees-Solutions" source="Orion">Brainbees Solutions</keyword> (Firstcry) will announce its IPO share allotment status on Friday, August 9.</li><li>The shares of Brainbees Solutions were subscribed 12.22 times.</li><li>The Brainbees Solutions shares are expected to be listed on the stock exchanges on August 13.</li></ul> Pune-based Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry), which offers products for mothers, babies, and kids under the Firstcry platform is expected to announce the allotment status of its initial public offering (IPO) on Friday, August 9. The <keyword id="21126411" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brainbees-Solutions-ipo" source="Orion">Brainbees Solutions IPO</keyword> opened on August 6 and closed on August 8. The price band for the Brainbees Solutions IPO was ₹440 to ₹465 per share. <h2>Brainbees Solutions IPO subscription status</h2>On its last day, the Brainbees Solutions IPO was subscribed 12.22 times, receiving bids for 60.64 crore equity shares against 4.96 crore shares on offer. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112393219" title="Unicommerce eSolutions IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> While the qualified institutional buyer (QIB) portion was subscribed 19.30 times, the non-institutional investor's portion was subscribed 4.68 times. The retail portion was subscribed 2.31 times. The employee portion was subscribed 6.57 times. <h2>Brainbees Solutions IPO Grey market premium</h2>The shares of Brainbees Solutions are currently commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of ₹20 per share. GMP is the premium at which IPO shares are traded in an unofficial market before they are listed on the stock exchanges. <h2>How to check the Brainbees Solutions IPO’s allotment status</h2>You can check the <keyword id="22723454" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brainbees-Solutions-ipo-allotment" source="Orion">Brainbees Solutions IPO allotment</keyword> status on the registrar’s website. <ul><li>To check the Brainbees Solutions IPO allotment status, visit the registrar’s website<a href="https://linkintime.co.in/initial_offer/public-issues.html"> here</a>. </li><li>Click on ‘Select Company’ and then select ‘Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry)’. </li><li>Now, enter your PAN, application number, DP / Client ID or Account number / IFSC. </li><li>Click on submit. </li></ul>You will be able to see your Brainbees Solutions IPO application status. It will display the number of shares that you have applied for and the number of shares that have been allotted to you. You can also check the Brainbees Solutions IPO allotment status on the BSE and NSE websites. To check the allotment status on the BSE or NSE website: <ul><li>Go to the BSE<a href="https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx"> website</a>. </li><li>On the website, click on 'Equity' and then select ‘Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry)’ from the dropdown menu. </li><li>Now, enter your application number and PAN. </li><li>Click on 'Search'. </li></ul>You will be able to see the number of Brainbees Solutions shares allotted to you. You can click<a href="https://www.nseindia.com/products-services/initial-public-offerings-bid-verification"> here</a> and log in to check your Brainbees Solutions IPO allotment status on NSE. <h2>Brainbees Solutions IPO listing date</h2>The shares of Brainbees Solutions will be listed on the stock exchanges on August 13. Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. We recommend that readers consult certified, qualified, registered advisors for professional and personalised financial advice. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms">India’s wearables market decline for the first time as smartwatch shipments fall</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/unicommerce-esolutions-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112393219.cms">Unicommerce eSolutions IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbi-mpc-meet-cheque-clearing-time-reduced-upi-limit-increased-for-tax-payment/articleshow/112366099.cms">RBI MPC meet – Cheque clearing time reduced, UPI limit increased for tax payment</a>

Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry) IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more

<keyword id="19981453" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Brainbees-Solutions" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Brainbees Solutions" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Brainbees Solutions">Brainbees Solutions</keyword> Ltd, the parent firm of online e-commerce platform <keyword id="19939174" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FirstCry" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="FirstCry" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="FirstCry">FirstCry</keyword>, has received <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Sebi" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Sebi">Sebi</keyword>'s approval to raise funds through an initial public offering (<keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPO" source="keywords">IPO</keyword>), an update with the markets regulator showed on Monday. Apart from this, three more companies -- SaaS platform Unicommerce eSolutions, Maharashtra-based Gala Precision Engineering and Interarch Building Products -- obtained the regulator's nod to float the initial share sale. These companies -- who filed their preliminary IPO papers with Sebi between January and May 2024 -- obtained the regulator's observations during June 25-28, according to the update. In Sebi's parlance, obtaining its observations means its approval to float the public issue. According to the fresh draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), Pune-based Brainbees Solutions' proposed IPO is a combination of a fresh issue of equity shares, aggregating up to Rs 1,816 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 5.44 crore equity shares by existing shareholders. Under the OFS, SVF Frog, a Cayman Islands-registered entity of <keyword id="19944037" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Softbank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Softbank">Softbank</keyword>, will sell 2.03 crore equity shares of Brainbees Solutions Ltd, and automaker Mahindra &amp; Mahindra (M&amp;M) will offload 28.06 lakh shares of the company. Currently, Softbank holds a 25.55 per cent stake in Brainbees Solutions, and M&amp;M owns a 10.98 per cent stake in the multi-brand retailing platform. Apart from Softbank and M&amp;M, other entities selling shares in the OFS are PI Opportunities Fund, TPG, NewQuest Asia Investments, Apricot Investments, Valiant Mauritius, TIMF Holdings, Think India Opportunities Fund and Schroders Capital. Brainbees Solutions re-filed preliminary papers with Sebi in May after the company was directed by the regulator to re-file the draft papers, citing insufficient disclosure of key performance indicators (KPIs), market sources had said. The company's key performance indicators include its number of orders, average order value and annual transacting customers. Unicommerce's issue is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating up to 2.98 crore equity shares by the selling shareholders. Under the OFS, SB Investment Holdings (UK) Ltd, an affiliate of Japan's SoftBank, will offload 1.61 crore shares, promoter AceVector Limited (formerly known as Snapdeal Limited) will sell up to 1.14 crore shares, and B2 Capital Partners will be selling up to 22 lakh shares. Since the IPO is completely an OFS, the entire proceeds will go to the selling shareholders. Shares of these four companies will be listed on the BSE and NSE. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/vraj-iron-and-steel-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111394752.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/vraj-iron-and-steel-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111394752.cms" target="_blank">Vraj Iron and Steel IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-price-hike-new-plans-and-how-you-can-save-money/articleshow/111331794.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-price-hike-new-plans-and-how-you-can-save-money/articleshow/111331794.cms" target="_blank">Reliance Jio and Airtel price hike – new plans and how you can save money</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-july-2024/slidelist/111304902.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-smartphones-launching-in-india-in-july-2024/slidelist/111304902.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming smartphones launching in India in July 2024</a>

FirstCry's parent firm Brainbees Solutions gets Sebi's go ahead to float IPO

Supam Maheshwari, cofounder and CEO of mother and child care e-commerce platform <keyword id="19939174" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="FirstCry" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="FirstCry" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="FirstCry">FirstCry</keyword> has reportedly offloaded 6.2 million shares prior to filing for the company's initial public offer (<keyword id="19905471" type="TOPIC" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPO" source="TOPIC" meta.keywordsubtype="equity,investopedia" meta.msid="19357203" meta.seopath="i/ipo" meta.entityname="IPO" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="ipo">IPO</keyword>). According to a MoneyControl report, Maheshwari's offloaded shareholding would be over Rs 300 crore. <keyword id="1615917" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="firstcry" source="Orion">FirstCry</keyword> CEO has also listed himself as a selling shareholder in the public issue, according to the company's Draft Red-Herring Prospectus (<keyword id="131606" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="drhp" source="Orion">DRHP</keyword>). He had 7.46 per cent stake in the company but after filing the draft <keyword id="6354763" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo" source="Orion">IPO</keyword> papers, his holding came down to 5.95 per cent stake. According to the DRHP, Maheshwari has offloaded 9.34 million shares during six months before the date of filing of the IPO papers. "At the price of Rs 487.44 apiece, this share transfer would be worth over Rs 455 crore," said the report. FirstCry was yet to respond to the report. Japanese investment giant <keyword id="19944037" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="softbank" source="keywords">SoftBank</keyword> has sold shares worth $310 million in FirstCry in two rounds, according to earlier reports. Late last month, FirstCry filed its DRHP with the market regulator SEBI, seeking to raise Rs 1,816 crore via fresh issue of shares. FirstCry's parent company BrainBees Solutions filed the DRHP which includes offer-for-sale (OFS) comprising 5.4 crore equity shares. FirstCry will use the IPO funds to set up modern retail stores and warehouses across the country. Meanwhile, the company reported Rs 5,632 crore revenue from operations in FY23, while its losses surged over six times to Rs 486 crore from Rs 79 crore in FY22.

IPO-bound FirstCry's CEO Supam Maheshwari offloads shares worth Rs 300 crore: Report

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/topic/SAIF-Partners">SAIF Partners</a>, which was an early investor in leading Indian mobile payments and digital wallet player <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/topic/paytm">Paytm</a>, has started raising India-dedicated fund of about $350-$400 million for the third time. This round would take its assets under management to over $1 billion. The last time it closed an India-dedicated fund was about over two years ago. "They have already started the process and will (raise capital) primarily from the same investors, which are endowments in the USA," people in the know told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/money/saif-eyes-safe-bet-here-plans-400m-india-fund/articleshow/58603352.cms">ET</a>. After this round, <keyword id="161314" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SAIF-Partners">SAIF Partners</keyword> will become one of the largest venture funds in India, following <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Story-Of-Sequoia-Capitals-6-4-Billion-Revenge-On-Mark-Zuckerberg/articleshow/30741928.cms">Sequoia Capital</a>, <keyword id="335288" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Accel-India">Accel India</keyword> and <keyword id="175881" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nexus-Venture-Partners">Nexus Venture Partners</keyword>. All the above venture funds have over $1 billion in assets under management. "SAIF will make a partial exit on its nine-year old investment in <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> as part of SoftBank's investment," one of the sources added. "SAIF Partners has invested a total of $70 million in Paytm till now, and in terms of returns this will top Tiger Global's investment in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/topic/Flipkart">Flipkart</a> as well." Despite a slump in investments and returns in India, SAIF Partners has been able to have earned more than $400 million on its investments in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Makemytrip-to-soon-enter-online-budget-hotel-space-with-investment-in-FabHotels/articleshow/58358180.cms">MakeMyTrip</a>, a 16-fold return on its investment. Some of its other Indian investments are in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/BookMyShow-Raises-Rs-150-CroreFrom-SAIF-Partners-Existing-Investors/articleshow/36770587.cms">BookMyShow</a>, <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="FirstCry">FirstCry</keyword>, <keyword id="1871874" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="PropTiger">PropTiger</keyword>, Rivigo, and <keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swiggy">Swiggy</keyword>. (Image source LiveMint)

SAIF partners keeping aside $400m worth of funds for India

Megastar <keyword id="6357912" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword> will be the brand <keyword id="2722" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="ambassador">ambassador</keyword> of Firstcry.com, children focused e-Commerce company. The company has mandated <keyword id="274876" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lowe-Lintas">Lowe Lintas</keyword> for the advertising campaign, which will include six films featuring Bachchan, chief executive and founder <keyword id="2948376" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Supan-Maheshwari">Supan Maheshwari</keyword> told ET. 

	The advertisements will be released by the end of this week.
 

	Maheshwari added that the company might raise funds next year, but did not disclose how much it intends to raise in the fifth round of funding.
 With the help of <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firm <keyword id="608019" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="New-Enterprise-Associates">New Enterprise Associates</keyword> and San Francisco based <keyword id="624862" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Valiant-Capital">Valiant Capital</keyword>, the baby and childcare products retailer has so far got $36 million in Series D funding. It has received $10 million in the last round earlier this year. 

	The CEO, however, did not say how much FirstCry has earmarked as annual advertising budget, but industry executives ET spoke to pegged it at close to Rs 100 crore.
 "An internal research showed that FirstCry was low on awareness despite the fact that repeat purchase on the website is 50% higher than our closest competitor," said <keyword id="323232" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anuj-Jain">Anuj Jain</keyword>, the company's senior vice-president. 

	"We needed to create maximum impact with the campaign. Amitabh Bachchan brings huge credibility to the brand. He has pan-India appeal and is a doting grandfather,” he said.
 

	Jain said the company has made six TV commercials around the theme "Bachchon ki shopping, Bachchon ka khel nahi" (kids shopping is not child's play), which will run for the next three months. 
 The campaign will also have radio, out-of-home and tactical print legs. The new ad campaign will be handled by Lowe Lintas's <keyword id="92247" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Johnson-Johnson">Johnson &amp; Johnson</keyword> team, Maheshwari said. 

	FirstCry was launched in 2010 by Maheshwari and Amitava Saha. It is owned by Brainbees Solution, a products supplier for pregnant women and kids. The brand has over 120 brick and mortar stores across the country. 
	 
	(Image: Indiatimes)

Shahenshah or the baby: Who has the Firstcry?

As a part of its micro-marketing strategy, online retailer of babycare <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="FirstCry">FirstCry</keyword> has presented one million gift boxes to new mothers in hospitals across the country. It also gave coupon codes to mothers for further shopping on its online site, app or the 120 physical outlets across the country. 
 The Pune-based company plans to continue the campaign perpetually and targets to reach 1,25,000 new mothers per month. "The free-of-cost gift box presented to new mothers contained essentials required in the first few days of pregnancy and we called the box as 'celebrating the first cry'," said <keyword id="2604184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Supam-Maheshwari">Supam Maheshwari</keyword>, CEO of FirstCry. 
 
The company, which first conducted a pilot with around 200 hospitals in Pune, has so far partnered with more than 7,500 hospitals across the country. 
 
It has spent around Rs 20 crore on this initiative along with its brand partners. "With marketing costs increasing exponentially today, this was an innovative means for us to connect with new customers at a reduced marketing cost and build a potent relationship with new mothers who can become our regular customers," said Maheshwari. 
 
He said the company has seen a conversion rate of 8%-10% to actual customers through this campaign. "Traditional campaigns typically see a 1% to 2%, whereas we achieved conversions four times that," Maheshwari said. 
 First-Cry, owned by <keyword id="933856" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="BrainBees-Solutions">Brainbees Solutions</keyword>, had raised $36 million, or about Rs 220 crore, from New Enterprise Associates, Valiant Capital and existing investors in its fourth round of funding earlier this year. It plans to increase its physical store count to 200 by March 2016. 
 
The Indian babycare (age 0-9) market is estimated at around $10 billion, or about Rs 62,000 crore. Every year about 25 million babies are born in the country. 
 
The market is fragmented today with as many as 4,000 specialised baby shops across the country. "There is a huge opportunity for organised retail chains," Maheshwari said. In the online space, First-Cry competes with players such as BabyOye. 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes)

FirstCry goes gaga with offers for new mothers

In today’s competitive marketplace, the number of companies selling similar product/services &amp; the number of channels by which marketers can reach potential customers have increased and at the same time, potential customers’ attention &amp; time span for any advertisement have substantially decreased. 
 There are many big and small eCommerce players in India. They are burning hard-earned <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> money in various online &amp; offline marketing channels to reach out to potential customers, get their attention and bring them on their sites with no guarantee that same customer would visit the site again and are realizing that day by day it’s becoming difficult to reduce customer acquisition &amp; retention cost. In such a cluttered <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword>, it has become difficult for them to establish one-on-one relationship with their customers in a cost-effective manner, and if they continue to rely on traditional types of advertising, sooner or later they would burn their cash and may disappear from business headlines. 
 To solve this burning problem, famous author and marketer <keyword id="772806" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Seth-Godin">Seth Godin</keyword> in his popular book Permission Marketing emphasized that if marketers focus on building one-on-one relationships with their potential customers &amp; offer them incentives to accept advertising, then marketers could get potential customers’ permission to engage them in a dialogue, create trust, build awareness and improve chances of making sale. Permission Marketing has the power to convert strangers into friends, and eventually friends into customers. 
 To create its own path in eCommerce clutter and reach out to potential customers with their permission, <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="FirstCry">FirstCry</keyword>.com has created an interesting marketing model and has been able to reduce its customer acquisition cost and increase conversion rate substantially. Let’s take a look at how the brand is converting strangers into friends and then friends into customers using its permission marketing model. 
 
FirstCry Box Program – A permission marketing model 
 FirstCry.com’s target customers are young parents and FirstCry box program helps create a brand experience amongst them when they’re celebrating the happiest cry ever – the first cry of their babies at maternity hospitals. Inspired from <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword>’s two-sided network business model in which one side is customers, who get free access to search and other side is advertisers, who pay to Google to reach out to their targeted customers, FirstCry box program also has 2 sides – parents and baby products’ brands. 
 
Parents - Customer side of the network (free side that doesn’t pay) 
 
FirstCry.com signed up 7,000+ hospitals in 50+ cities and has an army of account managers to manage relationships with contact people at signed hospitals. The program reaches out to 70,000+ new parents every month through these hospitals and plans to scale up to 1 lac+. This means that the FirstCry Box will be gifted to over 1 million parents every year! 
 
Baby products’ brands - Advertiser side of the network (paid side that pays in the form of samples and distribution cost) 
 
FirstCry partnered with brands that want to reach parents at the earliest stage of their customer lifecycle and became their most efficient channel for direct marketing. Brands give their gift products and share a program cost with FirstCry. This allows baby brands and FirstCry to together build the most targeted marketing program in the baby and kids space. Based on independent surveys and internal data, there are some astounding results. The adoption rate for brands in mass categories is upwards of 25%. One of the brands has seen a 4x increase in customers acquired within the FirstCry Box gifted parents compared to when they were not gifting. Another brand has been able to increase its retail penetration of a newly launched product due to the demand generated in areas around the hospitals where the gifting happens. At a very basic level, the program has a customer acquisition cost that is almost 1/10th of an average TV campaign, largely because of its efficient targeting ability. 
 
Working of the program 
 
FirstCry.com receives brand samples and then packs them into various boxes as per hospitals’ segments &amp; regions (as a few brands want to focus on specific regions). Packed boxes are delivered to hospitals on the basis of number of monthly baby births at these hospitals. This whole initiative is has a strong back-end of technology, warehousing &amp; logistics. 
 
Converting strangers into friends <keyword id="6382661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nurses">Nurses</keyword> act as a channel with permission to reach out to parents and gift them the boxes within 2 days of baby birth and when parents get these gift boxes with necessary items required during early days of baby birth, they get happy, connect with the brands present in the box and happily give <keyword id="154361" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="feedback">feedback</keyword> forms with their information such as contact details and baby’s birth date to nurses. In this way they are giving permission to FirstCry to talk to them. It is then the responsibility of FirstCry to respect this permission and provide value. 
 
Converting friends into customers 
FirstCry account managers collect feedback forms, which are entered into database and calls are made on 100% customer data to evaluate activity and conversion. In the box, parents get a high value discount coupon using which they can purchase products from FirstCry’s online &amp; offline stores. Most importantly, there is a weekly mailer program that shares relevant stories and keeps them updated on products they are likely to need in the immediate future. Open rates of over 20% week after week indicate the relevance of these mailers. 
 
Increasing frequency for regular contacts 
From an advertiser’s point of view, the single most important tactic is frequency to connect with a customer. Technology enables memorizing babies’ birth dates and gives an ability to customize weekly emails for father &amp; mother separately with information relevant as per babies’ growth as signified by the weekly mailer program. 
 
Impact of FirstCry box program 
1. This program has given 100% targeted reach to baby brands to unique parents every month. 
2. FirstCry.com has been able to create a story in parents’ mind for itself and partnered brands. 
3. It has been able to get parents’ permission to get into a dialogue without any interruption from competitors and any other media channel. 
4. It has been able to create a powerful national database of parents as per various segments and babies’ date of birth. 
5. By analyzing customers’ buying patterns, it has been able to track brands’ performance on awareness, trial and repeat in various customer segments. 
6. By connecting with customers at the earliest time of starting of their life cycle, it has been able to increase customer life time value and decrease customer acquisition cost. 
7. By informing parents about its franchise stores in their nearby locality, it has been able to send new customers to its franchise stores. 
The conversion rate of this marketing activity is close to 15% online (high despite e-commerce still being a very small percentage of the overall retail pie).This model justifies the power of permission marketing and proves that if start-ups focus on innovative marketing models then they could connect better with their prospective customers and eventually increase their sales with lower customer acquisition cost. 
 (About the authors: This article has been written by <keyword id="2726791" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harsh-Pamnani">Harsh Pamnani</keyword> and Anuj Jain.)

Here comes another marketing model for e-commerce players in India

Myntra is planning to open offline stores across the country in 2015 to promote its private labels, even as discussions on the fashion portal's merger with <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> are on. 
 
Myntra is expected to continue as a separate fashion brand even after it merges with Flipkart. This is why it has stepped up efforts to promote its flagship private label casual wear — Roadster. 
 
"We are looking to go offline for pure brand-building, not to increase sales," chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian said. "We will start by opening one Roadster shop each in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and later venture into other towns and cities." Myntra had roped in Bollywood star Ranveer Singh to endorse Roadster. It is also likely to launch two or three more celebrity brand labels this year. 
 
Myntra, however, did not comment on investment in these offline stores. "It is too early to make an estimate," said Subramanian. Apart from Myntra, online retailer <keyword id="2229091" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="DonebyNone">DoneByNone</keyword> is also looking to earn revenue of Rs 500 crore in the next five years with nearly half of its sales coming from offline stores. "In the next six months, we plan to open our first few high street stores in Delhi. We will then expand to Mumbai and Bangalore," said Amarinder Dhaliwal, CEO of DoneByNone. "Offline stores have a greater customer reach. They add to the strength of the brand, awareness of the brand and also help it scale up." 
 Many e-commerce brands, including baby care retailer <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FirstCry">Firstcry</keyword>, nutrition and fitness products retailer <keyword id="922093" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Healthkart">Healthkart</keyword> and eyewear retailer <keyword id="1518229" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lenskart">Lenskart</keyword> are already boosting their offline presence to expand their reach. 
 
"We will penetrate a few more categories like kids' private brands and formal wear brands in the second half of the year," said Subramanian. It expects to give profit by year end with an estimated turnover of Rs 800 crore. 
Image:Thinkstock

Myntra
Mulls Opening Offline Stores

<keyword id="1489410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce-in-India">E-commerce in India</keyword> is once again grabbing the headlines and this time, for all the right reasons. Bangalore-based <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, arguably India’s largest standalone <keyword id="1127700" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fashion-e-tailer">fashion e-tailer</keyword>, has recently closed a <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> round worth $50 million from an investor consortium led by <keyword id="1430452" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="PremjiInvest">PremjiInvest</keyword>, the family office of the <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword>. Myntra is also in talks with a clutch of investors to raise an additional $40 million at a higher <keyword id="51393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="valuation">valuation</keyword>, according to an Economic Times report. So far, the <keyword id="2049121" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-firm">e-commerce firm</keyword> has raised $125 million in risk capital funding. Another fashion e-tailer that is also raising <keyword id="57924" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="big-money">big money</keyword> is Gurgaon-based <keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>.com, which is backed by Berlin-based <keyword id="1965711" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rocket-Internet-GmbH">Rocket Internet GmbH</keyword> – a venture arm of the Samwer brothers. The e-commerce firm is reportedly raising a fresh round of equity funding worth $100 million, of which it has already received $27.5 million from the British <keyword id="2049123" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Development-finance-institution">development finance institution</keyword> <keyword id="1613067" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="CDC-Group-Plc">CDC Group Plc</keyword>. 
 All this is good news for the cash-strapped Indian e-commerce segment. So we have taken a close look at the recent fundraising by the <keyword id="2049116" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-e-commerce-players">Indian e-commerce players</keyword> and identified five key trends that seem to be prevailing. Will they rule the <keyword id="2049126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fundraising-scenario">fundraising scenario</keyword> and determine the parameters of growth throughout 2014? Let us have a quick look. 
 
Growing big is the key priority E-commerce start-ups in India are finally coming of age and looking beyond the quickest possible exits. When Myntra closed $50 million in funding a couple of days ago, the company was immediately approached by its bigger rival <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> who had reportedly come up with an acquisition offer worth $200 million. According to a TechCrunch report, e-commerce giant <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> had also approached Myntra but the details of the proposed deal are not yet available. 
 Although rumours were rife that Myntra could be considering either of the deals as part of a bigger strategy, the e-tailer has decided to stay off the <keyword id="1949341" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Exit-route">exit route</keyword>. In fact, its ongoing talks for an additional round of funding worth $40 million clearly indicate that the company has in place some well-thought-out <keyword id="414633" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-plans">growth plans</keyword> and big ones at that. The only other reason for back-to-back funding is to raise the valuation but at this point, Myntra doesn’t look like it is on the block. Neither has it decided to quit in a hurry like <keyword id="6359128" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Redbus">redBus</keyword>.in did last year. <keyword id="2049136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-largest-bus-ticketing-firm">India’s largest bus ticketing firm</keyword> was acquired by the <keyword id="1643008" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ibibo-Group">ibibo Group</keyword> for around $125 million but the sale cut short a successful <keyword id="530125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="entrepreneurial-journey">entrepreneurial journey</keyword> that could have become a $500 million business in terms of revenue and could have achieved a $1 billion valuation. 
 As for Jabong, the very fact that it is backed by Rocket Internet may tell the industry insiders a different story. Rocket is known in the market for its fast and furious build-and-sell business module, and the start-ups are essentially replicas of successful US businesses. But the kind of funding Jabong is raising right now shows that the company is in no hurry to down the shutters in India even though two of its four co-founders have recently left the company. Jabong started its India operations in 2012 and competes with key e-com players such as Flipkart, Myntra, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> and <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>, among others. 
 
Only <keyword id="2049143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Core-expertise">core expertise</keyword> matters Internet giant <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> has already given us a case in point when it sold <keyword id="487941" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Motorola-Mobility">Motorola Mobility</keyword> to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, less than two years after paying $12.5 billion to acquire it. The deal is not a total financial loss as Google has managed to keep patents worth billions of dollars and expects to turn Lenovo into a manufacturing unit for its <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> OS. But selling <keyword id="11148" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Motorola">Motorola</keyword> is a sure indication that Google should have focused more on its <keyword id="1430489" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Core-Competencies">core competencies</keyword> – search, software and selling ads – instead of developing hardware. 
 You will find a similar case here as Jabong has reportedly sold its <keyword id="2049146" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="logistics-arm">logistics arm</keyword> <keyword id="2049145" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="JaVAS">JaVAS</keyword> (Jabong Value Added Services) to Gurgaon-based QuickDel Logistics as part of its business restructuring and funding exercise. Jabong <keyword id="170488" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="co-founder">co-founder</keyword> <keyword id="536011" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Praveen-Sinha">Praveen Sinha</keyword> has also confirmed to the media that JaVAS is now an independent entity. 
 However, that brings us back to the basic question. Should companies try and provide end-to-end solutions to ensure a complete customer experience or should they focus on core competencies and leave the rest to the experts in those fields? We particularly raise this question as many Indian e-commerce firms are currently focusing on <keyword id="2049154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Proprietary-payment-gateways">proprietary payment gateways</keyword> and customised logistics services in a bid to propel their services to the next level. However, such services can actually make you lose money unless a company is catering to a customer base as vast as <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword> or Amazon. 
 After JaVAS, the writing is definitely on the wall. The bells and whistles can always come in later, but the key focus must be core competencies. Of late, even <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> seems to be falling in this trap – its newest hardware products have ‘n’ number of <keyword id="2049161" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Incremental-features">incremental features</keyword> but real innovations seem to be eluding the iconic company. 
 
Investors showing better <keyword id="170907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="risk-appetite">risk appetite</keyword> India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow sevenfold to $22 billion in the next five years, and investors, both national and global, want to have a piece of the pie. According to <keyword id="1981" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Khanna">Rahul Khanna</keyword>, managing director of the <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firm <keyword id="218905" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Canaan-Partners">Canaan Partners</keyword> (India), e-commerce players in India (and everywhere else for that matter) require very deep pockets to scale up to the level of breaking even and hitting profitability. In this space, sales margins are typically low; volume is high, and logistics &amp; back office <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> only become viable when companies are catering to a very <keyword id="2049169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Large-customer-base">large customer base</keyword>. Consequently, <keyword id="2049171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Follow-on-rounds">follow-on rounds</keyword> are extremely crucial for sustainable growth. Now that big institutional investors like PremjiInvest and UK-based development <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> institution CDC Group are entering the arena, the much-needed <keyword id="2000080" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cash-burning">cash burning</keyword> is sure to propel growth to the desired level. 
 “E-commerce is fast maturing in India and that’s the main reason <keyword id="363248" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Global-Investments">global investments</keyword> are flowing in,” says another analyst. “When big players like Amazon show interest (the e-commerce giant has reportedly approached Myntra), investors are quick to sense the tremendous <keyword id="452394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-potential">growth potential</keyword> lying here,” she adds. 
 
Forget the buzz you are creating; it’s result time now Analysts, who have followed the course of events over the past few weeks, also point out another interesting trend. Be it Myntra or Jabong or other up-and-coming e-commerce businesses, it’s their <keyword id="2049173" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Growth-quotient">growth quotient</keyword> that has attracted <keyword id="2049174" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Big-funding">big funding</keyword>. In other words, start-ups who are delivering in a big way will get the valuable <keyword id="2049175" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Growth-dollars">growth dollars</keyword> as investors are now looking beyond the buzz and focusing on <keyword id="1730239" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-fundamentals">business fundamentals</keyword> and results. 
 Companies must have the numbers – in terms of customer base, <keyword id="169826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-figures">growth figures</keyword> and brand leadership – to justify the big money they are raising. For instance, Myntra expects to more than double its <keyword id="657194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gross-sales">gross sales</keyword> to over $250 million by March 2015 and the fashion e-tailer’s <keyword id="2049176" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Monthly-gross-sales">monthly gross sales</keyword> could touch $20-25 million by April this year. Myntra is expected to end the current fiscal with more than $100 million in gross sales and it is targeting $1 billion in <keyword id="6399113" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="GMV">GMV</keyword> by 2016-2017. Flipkart, which raised $360 million last year at a valuation of about $1.6 billion, is also projecting a GMV of $1 billion by 2015. 
 Jabong, too, has aggressive growth plans and the latest round will be used to strengthen its <keyword id="2049177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Supply-chain-infrastructure">supply chain infrastructure</keyword> and enhance its <keyword id="2049178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Technology-platform">technology platform</keyword>. According to industry sources, Jabong might have generated <keyword id="2049180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gross-merchandise-sales">gross merchandise sales</keyword> of $100-150 million for the fiscal 2012-13. Other key investments in the Indian e-commerce space since 2013 included online marketplace Snapdeal raising about Rs 300 crore and baby care portal <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FirstCry">Firstcry</keyword> bagging Rs 92 crore. 
 
Inventory, <keyword id="6630005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-labels">private labels</keyword> are adding value 
With the lone exception of Snapdeal that runs a 100% marketplace, most of the big e-commerce entities in India are flourishing on a hybrid model – a strategic mix of inventory, private label and marketplace. In fact, Jabong has been doing all three for some time now, although a bit discreetly, and it could be now pushing hard to extract every penny from each of these categories. 
 
Myntra, on the other hand, focuses on both inventory and private label, with the share of private labels rising rapidly. A couple of years ago, the e-tailer acquired Exclusively.in Inc., the company behind the private label brand Shersingh.com and the fashion site Exclusively.in, in a cash-cum-equity deal. Myntra is reportedly eyeing more private labels to add to its portfolio as the margins are pretty high in this segment and add substantially to the profits. 
 
Bottom line: Is it a <keyword id="2049185" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Volatile-situation">volatile situation</keyword>? In one of her latest blogs in <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">Entrepreneur</keyword>.com, entrepreneur-writer Erika Trautman has nicely summed it up. “No matter how great the idea, if your start-up doesn’t create hard and fast results with analytics, targeted business solutions and mobile integration, it won’t survive in 2014. Launching a start-up can’t just be about how cool your product is. No business can subsist off just buzz and Press. This year, start-ups must focus on business fundamentals and start emphasising partnerships that generate results.” 
 
Can the Indian e-commerce players innovate, scale up and deliver (as the takeaways so amply illustrate) to justify the trust investors are now putting in them? Will there be new ventures to take up the gauntlet? Let us wait and watch. 
 
Image: Thinkstock Photos/Getty Images

Indian E-com Players
Are Raising Big Money; These 5 Takeaways Can Help You Understand What’s
Changing

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has sought security assurance from the country's army chief for conducting the <keyword id="21536718" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="womens-T20-World-Cup" source="keywords">women's T20 World Cup</keyword>, scheduled to be held in October 3-20 amid <keyword id="20444027" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="political-unrest" source="keywords">political unrest</keyword> in the country following ouster of former Prime Minister <keyword id="20024637" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sheikh-Hasina" source="keywords">Sheikh Hasina</keyword>. The women's T20 World Cup is slated to be held in two Bangladesh cities ---- Sylhet and Mirpur. According to Cricbuzz, the <keyword id="20013507" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BCB" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BCB" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BCB">BCB</keyword> has written to Bangladesh's army chief of staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman seeking security assurance for organising the tournament. The warm-up round for the women's T20 World Cup is set to begin on September 27. The <keyword id="19901177" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICC" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ICC" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ICC">ICC</keyword> has been monitoring the situation after violent protests against the government led to deaths of hundreds of people and culminated with the resignation and fleeing of former PM Hasina. It is expected that the ICC could also opt to host the tournament at a different venue within a similar time zone, which leaves India, UAE and Sri Lanka as the choices. The current BCB president Nazmul Hasan Papon has also fled the country along with a few others board directors, who were believed to be having the backing of the former PM's party Awami League. However, a few other directors remain in <keyword id="19936600" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dhaka" source="keywords">Dhaka</keyword> and hope that the tournament will not be shifted from Bangladesh. BCB umpiring committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu said, "We are trying to host the tournament." "To be honest, there are not too many among us present in the country and on Thursday (August 8) we have sent a letter to the Army Chief regarding assurance about the security of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup as we have only two months in hand," he said. "ICC communicated with us two days back and we replied that we will come back to them shortly." "After the (interim) government is formed, still we have to give them assurance of the security considering it cannot be given by the board or any anyone else apart from a law enforcement agency of the country and so we sent the letter and after getting written assurance from them (the Army), we will inform the ICC," he added. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank">Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry) IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank">India’s wearables market decline for the first time as smartwatch shipments fall</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank">Ola wants to re-enter the quick commerce business to take on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart</a>

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