FirstCry expands quick delivery to 12 cities

FirstCry's India multichannel revenue grew 17.7 percent in the first quarter, its strongest growth in five quarters. Founder and CEO Supam Maheshwari told ETRetail that initiatives around the RocketBees logistics network, the FC Qwik quick-delivery service, and offline stores drove this performance.

FC Qwik, which began as a pilot in December, has expanded from five cities at the end of March to 12 cities by the end of June. Shipments through the service more than doubled, increasing from around 60,000 in March to 125,000 in June.

FC Qwik's Growth and Ambition

The company plans to eventually have FC Qwik handle 10 percent of its total online shipments. "This initiative is just a start," Maheshwari said. "It will obviously scale into many more cities going forward." FirstCry currently offers delivery in two to three hours in the cities where FC Qwik operates, with an ambition to reduce that time further. Maheshwari stated the goal is to improve customer experience for parents who need certain products faster.

The RocketBees Logistics Backbone

The quick-commerce service is built on FirstCry's in-house RocketBees logistics network, which has been scaled over the past 15 months. RocketBees has expanded from 62 to 72 cities, and now delivers more than 50 percent of FirstCry's online shipments. Maheshwari claims the network has a 20 percent superior delivery performance compared to third-party logistics companies.

Logistics are complex for the retailer due to its wide product range. The company handles items from 10-gram diaper pins to 30-40 kilogram toy cars. Maheshwari said FirstCry previously struggled with delivery experience using third-party providers. RocketBees is built as an asset-light model, using leased vehicles for parts of the first and middle mile, with local partners handling the last mile. The technology was built in-house.

A Broad Assortment for Quick Commerce

FirstCry is using FC Qwik for a much wider assortment than just immediate-need items. The service includes diapers, formula, bottles, and breast pumps, but also party wear, ethnic wear, baby gear, walkers, tricycles, and car seats. This broader selection is key to increasing purchase frequency. The regular ecommerce platform offers around 2 million products, while FC Qwik provides a wide assortment in its operational cities.

Multichannel Performance and Strategy

FirstCry's online channel contributed 78 percent of its India multichannel Gross Business Value (GBV) in FY26, with offline modern stores contributing 22 percent. In its top 50 cities, around 36 percent of GBV comes from customers who shop both online and offline. While focused on online, the company is also improving offline performance, with offline GMV growing 15 percent year-on-year. It plans to add around 90-100 stores in FY27.

Physical stores support online operations, including FC Qwik, which Maheshwari said improves capital efficiency and inventory turnover. The investment in RocketBees and FC Qwik adds an initial cost of around 60 basis points, but Maheshwari said economics improve as city networks mature. When more than 70-75 percent of a city's deliveries use the network, costs start to normalise. The company believes the investment will improve customer experience and purchase frequency. For Maheshwari, faster delivery responds to changing consumer expectations, with the broader objective being to capture a greater share of customer spending through its combined ecommerce, FC Qwik, and physical store network.