Russian e-commerce giant Ozon.ru is considering the aquisition of online footwear retailer Sapato.ru, having received the green light from the antimonopoly authorities on February 1st.
Ozon has not yet made a final decision, and is also considering other acquisitions, the company’s PR manager Maria Nazamutdinova told Russian business information site Marker.ru.
Having launched its own section dedicated to shoes in the Spring of last year, Ozon seeks to strengthen its position in this fast growing market segment, which was recently estimated to have a potential of at least €100 – 150 million, or $130 – 197 million. The acquisition of Sapato could also provide Ozon with fulfilment capacities specially adapted to the shoe business, following the example of Amazon, which bought Zappos in 2009.
Launched in June 2010 by Fast Lane Ventures, a Western style Internet incubator, Sapato.ru came as the first major online shoe retailer in Russia. In September 2011, gross demand reached $26 million, up from $56,000 one year earlier, Fast Lane Ventures General Manager Marina Treshchova told East-West Digital News in a recent interview. In November, 2011, over 130,000 orders had been made and the number of repeat customers exceeded 100,000. More than 5,700 shoe and accessory items were available in the collection across a range of 200 brands for women, men and children, according to Treshchova.
Sapato.ru raised a total of $20 million in three rounds of financing from Fast Lane Ventures and its mother company Direct Group, eVenture Capital Partners, the venture investment branch of the Otto Group, and Kinnevik, a diversified Swedish holding founded in 1936, and Intel Capital. The last round alone, led by Intel Capital last June, amounted to $12 million.
Among other sites specializing in footwear include Bagsandshoes.ru and Online-obuv.ru, founded in 2010, and Promenad.ru, launched in early 2011 by the Otto Group, a leading global distance sales group with a strong presence in Russia. But Sapato’s strongest competitor is Lamoda.ru, launched just one year ago, which has quickly asserted itself as a market leader.
