About Crossword
Crossword is a Retail company based in Mumbai (India) founded in 1992, and was acquired by Agarwal Pune in August 2021. Books, gifts, toys, stationery, and accessories are retailed by Crossword. The company has 591 employees. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Aakash Gupta. Its website crossword.in draws about 448 thousand monthly visits. Its Indian entity Crossword Bookstores Private Limited reported revenue of ₹249 Cr. Its focus areas include Consumer Goods, Retail Chains and Books.
Company details
Crossword was established in 1992 in Mumbai, India, within the retail sector. A range of consumer products, including books, gifts, toys, stationery, and accessories, is offered through physical stores and an online platform at crossword.in. Operations are primarily conducted across India, serving diverse customer needs in leisure and lifestyle items. The role of MD CEO is held by Aakash Gupta.
- Headquarters Mumbai, India
- Employees 591
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsRetail
- Website category Lifestyle · Fashion and Apparel
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website crossword.in
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Agarwal Pune (Aug 2021)
- Legal Name Crossword Bookstores Private Limited
- Date of Incorporation 03 Nov, 1999
- Jurisdiction Pune, Maharashtra, India
- Annual Revenue₹249 Cr
FY 2025 · +29% YoY
- Net Profit₹3.88 Cr
FY 2025 · 2% margin
- EBITDA₹57.80 Cr
FY 2025 · 23% margin
- InvestorsShoppers Stop
& 1 more
- Employee Count591
- Acquired by
Associated legal entities of Crossword
Crossword operates through Crossword Bookstores Private Limited (active). Its filings, financials, charges and directors are on the company page.
| Legal entity | Status | Incorporated | Registered in | Revenue (FY 2025) | Employees | Directors | Company page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossword Bookstores Private Limited CIN U52396PN1999PTC213916 | Active | 03 Nov 1999 | Pune, Maharashtra | ₹249 Cr | 591 | 4 | View details |
Investors in Crossword
Crossword has secured backing from 2 investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Shoppers Stop and Agarwal Pune.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Large format fashion and lifestyle products are retailed across stores. | 1991 | shoppersstop.com | Mumbai, India | |
Manufacturing of packaging goods, retail operations, and renewable energy generation in India. | 1986 | agarwalpune.com | Pune, India |
Investor details for Crossword
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Board of directors of Crossword Bookstores Private Limited (Crossword)
Crossword Bookstores Private Limited is the primary company behind Crossword. The board of Crossword Bookstores Private Limited currently have 3 directors; the longest-serving is Dinesh Madanlal Gupta, appointed in 2021. 28 earlier directors have ceased.
| Director | Designation | Appointed | Tenure | Entity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinesh Madanlal Gupta DIN 00126225 | Whole-time director | 31 Aug 2021 | 5 yrs 2 mo | Crossword Bookstores Private Limited |
| Aakash Dinesh Gupta DIN 09318556 | Managing Director | 11 Oct 2021 | 5 yrs | Crossword Bookstores Private Limited |
| Nidhi Aakash Gupta DIN 02735038 | Whole-time director | 11 Oct 2021 | 5 yrs | Crossword Bookstores Private Limited |
People of Crossword
15 people are tracked at Crossword (3 in leadership, 12 in team); the tracked headcount is 591.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
| MD & CEO | Leadership | |
H K | Head Of Operations India | Leadership |
Raees Shaikh | Head Of Operations | Leadership |
Latif Shah | Assistant Area Manager OPS - North | Team |
Nirav Mehta | Manager - CX | Team |
Nilesh Abhichandani | Store Manager | Team |
Kiran Patil | Operations Manager | Team |
J Tahir | Project Manager | Team |
Pramod Arwat | Facility Manager Maintanence | Team |
Priyanka Sakhare | Senior Account And Finance | Team |
Veena Premjani | Operations Trainer | Team |
Anirudh Shinde | Senior Manager Operations | Team |
Swanandi Bhanose | Project Executive | Team |
Shifa Shaikh | Customer Care Associate & Regional Operations Manager | Team |
Gagan Surve | Store Manager | Team |
Complete people profiles for Crossword
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Financials of Crossword
Figures of Crossword Bookstores Private Limited, the primary company behind Crossword, for FY 2025. Revenue was ₹249 Cr (+29% year on year). Net profit was ₹3.88 Cr (2% margin). EBITDA was ₹57.80 Cr (23% margin). Revenue has grown at a compounded annual rate of +115% over three years and +25% over five years.
- ₹249 CrRevenue · FY 2025 · +29% YoY
- ₹3.88 CrNet profit · 2% margin
- ₹57.80 CrEBITDA · 23% margin
- ₹40.06 CrPaid-up capital
- 591Employees (provident fund records)
- +115%Revenue CAGR, 3 years
- +25%Revenue CAGR, 5 years
Balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow and ratios of Crossword Bookstores Private Limited are on its company page.
Detailed financial statements for Crossword
Statement rows, ratios, five-year trends and downloadable financials of the group companies require an active premium plan.
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- Downloads
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Crossword
3 dated milestones of Crossword across 29 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Crossword is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Shoppers Stop.
- Exit Acquired by Agarwal Pune.
Web traffic of Crossword
The website of Crossword (crossword.in) receives about 448.2K visits a month and ranks #87,076 among all websites worldwide, #4,410 in Fashion and Apparel.
- Monthly visits448.2K
▼ 11.8% vs previous month
- Unique visitors270K
per month
- Global rank#87,076
among all websites
- Category rank#4,410
Lifestyle · Fashion and Apparel
- Bounce rate29%
- Pages per visit3.8
- Average visit1 min 21 sec
- DevicesDesktop 17% · Mobile 83%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Crossword. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| myntra.com | 100% | 113.8M | #236 | View details | |
| hidesign.com | 96% | 456.5K | #119,055 | View details | |
| bookstech.in | 84% | 48.4K | #597,910 | View details | |
| nappadori.com | 82% | 122.6K | #264,843 | View details | |
| itokri.com | 82% | 702.1K | #52,580 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Crossword
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Retail Stores & Chains
2 companies that operate in the same segment as Crossword (Retail Stores & Chains) in India, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online platform offering a wide range of baby, kids, and maternity products | 2010 | Pune, Maharashtra, India | USD 513.39 M | USD 911.07 M | 3,752 | |
Multi-format offline retail is operated in India. | 1997 | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | USD 3.41 B | USD 280.87 K | 32 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Crossword
Crossword was founded in 1992.
Crossword is headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is registered at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Aakash Gupta is the CEO of Crossword, as recorded in our data.
Crossword has 591 employees.
The primary company behind Crossword, Crossword Bookstores Private Limited, reported revenue of ₹249 Cr for FY 2025, up 29% year on year.
Crossword was established in 1992 in Mumbai, India, within the retail sector. A range of consumer products, including books, gifts, toys, stationery, and accessories, is offered through physical stores and an online platform at crossword.in. Operations are primarily conducted across India, serving diverse customer needs in leisure and lifestyle items. The role of MD CEO is held by Aakash Gupta.
Crossword has 2 investors. Key investors include Shoppers Stop, and Agarwal Pune.
Crossword operates through Crossword Bookstores Private Limited.
Yes. Crossword was acquired by Agarwal Pune in August 2021.
The legal entities of Crossword currently have 4 directors, including Dinesh Madanlal Gupta, Aakash Dinesh Gupta, Nidhi Aakash Gupta and others.
The website of Crossword receives about 448 thousand visits a month and ranks #87,076 among all websites worldwide.