In late July, Bay.ru (Bayru), a leading cross border sales operator facilitating Russian consumers’ purchases from eBay, Amazon, and other international e-commerce sites, announced that it had raised $4 million to strengthen its marketing and fulfillment capacities.
The funds were brought in by existing and new investors from the US, Europe, and Asia. Neither the investors’ identities nor the company’s valuation have been disclosed.
In early July, the Chicago-based company announced the launch of its own fulfillment service Dostami Express, which it expects to serve half of its delivery operations by the end of the year.
Now the company is holding talks “with a number of mid-sized and large US [retailers] showing a strong interest in penetrating the Russian market using Bay.ru’s platform,” according to Maxim Andryukhin, the head of the company’s representative office in Russia and the CIS.
Bay.ru claims that its turnover tripled in 2012 and expects to reach $75 million turnover this year with 1 million registered users, up from 350,000 currently.
Online cross-border trade may have totaled at least $1.5 billion dollars in 2012, almost doubling in one year, according to EWDN experts. Russian consumers appreciate foreign retailers’ diversified assortment and enjoy virtually tax-free purchases. But frequent slowdowns at customs checkpoints and the Russian postal service’s lack of efficiency have also created serious issues, as illustrated by the congestion of Moscow’s airports this past spring.
- RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE AND CROSS-BORDER SALES REPORTS – The total volume of Russian online retail reached approximately $13 billion in 2012, up 25% from the previous year, not including cross border sales. EWDN has published an in-depth research on this industry in partnership with E-Commercefacts.com as well as leading universities and consultancies. To receive free insights or to order the full version (2013 edition), please contact us at [email protected].
