FirstClub expands presence: Goes live in over 90% in Bengaluru pincodes

Ayyappan R, founder and CEO, FirstClub

FirstClub, a retail grocery startup, has expanded its presence in Bengaluru, its home turf, as the platform looks to cater to more consumers. While the app has been live since around June last year, its services were limited to certain areas until now.

The company, started by former Flipkart SVP Ayyappan R, positions itself as a quick-commerce platform that will focus on quality-first and then offer rapid deliveries as an additional offering.  It is backed by South Korea’s Paramark Ventures, Aditya Birla Ventures, Accel RTP Global and others and has raised over $31 million  in capital.

FirstClub has also expanded its warehouse network – now to a total of 15 ClubHouses – and is expected to add five more such facilities across Bengaluru within the next 1-2 months, as it looks to fulfill deliveries in 30 minutes or less. Once it has covered Bengaluru, it plans to launch in other cities across India.

“We are pleasantly surprised that customers are ready to wait for an extra 5-7mins for superior quality products. We believe the next phase of retail growth will be driven by quality-led choices, not just 10-minute delivery,” Ayyappan R, founder and CEO, FirstClub, said.

The company is clocking an annualised order run rate of 1.2 million and said it is growing at over 45 percent monthly. A total of 2 lakh people have used the platform in about eight months since being launched.

With the fresh funding, the company plans to expand to 35 stores within six months, covering all of Bengaluru’s pincodes, and add categories such as home, kids’ food, pet care and gifting. It is also experimenting with formats like subscription deliveries and cafés in dark stores serving food made from FirstClub’s own ingredients.