FirstClub bucks India’s speed obsession, quickly triples valuation to $120M with premium approach

Summary

While quick commerce in India has become synonymous with 10-minute deliveries — and the hottest play for startups and investors — FirstClub is taking a slower, more curated route. Yet just three months after launching its app, the 8-month-old startup has tripled its valuation. At a post-money valuation of $120 million, the Bengaluru-based startup has raised $23 million in a Series A round (comprising more than 90% equity and the rest in debt) co-led by returning investors Accel and RTP Global. The round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund, 2am VC, Paramark Ventures, and Aditya Birla Ventures. This new funding comes just eight months after FirstClub raised its $8 million seed round at a $40 million valuation in December. E-commerce in India — the world’s second-largest shopper base — has surged to approximately $60 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and is expected to grow at 18% annually, reaching $170-$190 billion by 2030, per a recent Bain & Company report. Nearly one in every 10 retail dollars in India is projected to be spent online by the end of the decade. Over the past few months, the market has shifted from traditional e-commerce, where deliveries typically took two to three days, to ultra-fast fulfillment — chiefly driven by the rise of quick-commerce startups. This shift has even prompted incumbents like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart to enter the fray with their own rapid delivery offerings. However, FirstClub sees a gap: Rather than racing to be the fastest, the startup is betting on quality. It is targeting the top 10% of Indian households — roughly 20 million of them — with premium products and a curated experience. Launched in June, the startup currently serves customers in a few localities of Bengaluru with four dark stores, which it calls “clubhouses.” Dark stores are fulfillment centers that look like retail stores but serve only online orders. The company stocks over 4,000 curated stock-keeping units from brands across package...