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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

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

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Myntra Mulls Opening Offline Stores

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

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BCB seeks Bangladesh army's assurance for hosting women's T20 World Cup

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