SEA plays catch up to India in babycare commerce

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• Why Southeast Asia’s mom and babycare firms are lagging behind India-based players like FirstCry
• ShopBack’s retreat from the buy now, pay later space
• Whether Qoo10’s bet to enter the US market through its Wish acquisition could pay off

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Hi there,

I’ve been learning a lot about postpartum care and things like when to start a baby on solids from a friend who’s a certified nutrition consultant for moms and babies.

In the past year, she’s created an online community for time-starved moms juggling the demands of raising a child and managing work and their households. She dishes out tips around managing recovery after pregnancy, restarting fitness journeys, and caring for babies, which has led to the community’s growth.

I’m not a parent, but I can only imagine what a dizzying journey it is – riding the highs of watching a little human grow, punctured with anxiety, stress, and exhaustion.

With all that parents have to juggle, it’s no wonder the mom and babycare sector in Southeast Asia is booming. It’s expected to be valued between US$26 billion and US$29 billion by 2027, my colleague Samreen writes in this week’s Big Story.

Still, that’s less than half of India’s babycare sector, where players like FirstCry, soon to IPO, sell a range of home-branded products – which include apparel, diapers, feeding and nursing items, as well as toys – both online and in its over 900 stores in the country.

Competition from strong horizontal ecommerce marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada, the operational challenges of scaling across different markets, and limited capital vis-a-vis their India-based counterparts, are just some of the limitations that Southeast Asian babycare players face.

Mom and babycare platforms aren’t the only ones facing challenges. In this week’s Hot Take, I look at cashback and rewards platform ShopBack’s retreat from the buy now, pay later space and discuss why – despite what the move suggests – we likely aren’t seeing the end of BNPL just yet.

— Melissa

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THE BIG STORY

FirstCry leads baby care ecommerce in India, but consolidating SEA a far cry

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THE HOT TAKE

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NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

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FYI

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