This Monday, St. Petersburg-based Live Office announced the completion of its initial public offering on the Moscow Stock Exchange. The 4 million shares, or 33% of the company’s equity, were offered at 129 rubles (approximately $4) per share, valuing the company at about $47.4 million.
Established in 1996, the company claims to serve 7,000 corporate customers. Well positioned in St. Petersburg with a 14% market share, the company has begun penetrating the Moscow and Smolensk markets.
Over 30% of the company’s sales are already generated by its online store, and Live Office expects this indicator to reach 70% or 80% by 2017. “Traditional retail methods belong to the past; we are progressively migrating to cyberspace,” the retailer stated.
Live Office is also working to enlarge its customer base. “They are trying to build a more ‘human’ image in a bid to attract female workers from accounting and administrative departments of SMBs,” noted Boris Ovchinnikov, co-founder of e-commerce consultancy Data Insight, in an exchange with East-West Digital News
Live Office will allocate the IPO money to further development and expansion into Russian regions. In 2012, the company posted 786.6 million rubles ($24.1 million) in turnover, showing 35% year-to-year growth.
- RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT – The total volume of Russian online retail reached approximately $13 billion in 2012, up 25% from the previous year, not including cross border sales. In partnership leading universities and consultancies, EWDN has published an in-depth research on this industry, including an overview of offline retailers migrating online. To receive free insights or to order the full version (2013 edition), please contact us at [email protected].
