The adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for GlobalBees also surged by 154% year-on-year (YoY).
While this growth aligns with the overall business expansion of the Pune-based company, which operates in India and Saudi Arabia, the management noted that increased seasonal sales significantly boosted this subsidiary’s growth.
“One of the important reasons for this growth in Globalbees is also the advancement of some seasonal sales by the platforms on which Globalbees sell their products,” Gautam Sharma, chief financial officer of the company said on the earnings call on Thursday.
Supam Maheshwari, cofounder and CEO of FirstCry, attributed the growth to an increase in demand for direct-to-consumer (D2C) products. He noted that the company expects this category to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 13%, in line with industry trends.
GlobalBees operates on a model similar to US-based brand aggregator Thrasio, acquiring, managing, and scaling a portfolio of D2C brands across categories like personal care, home care, fashion, and lifestyle.
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This ecommerce roll-up space, in general, has been under stress in recent months as a wider shortage of funding and challenges around scaling up weigh on the ecosystem, ET had reported in January.Amid this continued stress, Goat Brand Labs, which operates in this ecommerce roll-up space, raised $21 million in July, in a mix of debt and equity from a clutch of investors, including BlackRock, Mayfield and NB Ventures.
For FirstCry, GlobalBees represents an opportunity to diversify beyond its core mother and baby care segment into broader consumer categories.
Brainbees Solutions, the parent company of FirstCry currently holds a 50.73% stake in GlobalBees.
In the September quarter, FirstCry reduced its net loss by 47% YoY to Rs 62.8 crore, while operating revenue grew by 26% to Rs 1,905 crore.