AliExpress, the Chinese B2C marketplace which last year became number one online retailer in Russia, will allow Russian vendors to sell their goods through its platform starting from Nov. 11, news agency RBC reported last week.
Nearly 20 Russian retailers will be available on AliExpress at start, said Mark Zavadsky, GM of Alibaba Russia. These companies include marketplace Wikimart.ru, online retailers Tehnosila.ru and 220-volt.ru as well as such international brands operating in Russia as Redmond, L’Oreal and Baon.
More Russian partners will be able to join the platform in the future, Zavadsky added.
These new offers will be displayed in the “AliExpress Mall,” a special section of the AliExpress website. The conditions are similar to those applied to Chinese vendors, who pay to AliExpress a 5% commission on orders.
So far AliExpress has been selling essentially Chinese products, enjoying huge popularity among Russian online consumers who appreciate its low prices and large assortment. The inclusion of additional offers from Russian companies will help AliExpress close gaps in its product range, Zavadsky said. Tehnosila, for example, will offer heavy home appliances that are difficult to deliver from China.
Paradoxically, the Chinese platform, which has developed strong logistics to serve clients across Russia, may help Russian online retailers reach new customers categories in certain areas of the country.
A Chinese-Russian success story
Since its launch in 2010 — with a Russian-language version available as early as 2012, — AliExpress has dramatically gained popularity among Russian consumers.
In the period of August 2013 to August 2014, the Chinese platform overran eBay to reach an online audience double that of the US giant. That year it became Russia’s most visited e-commerce site and one of the country’s top 10 most visited websites.
The Russian traffic of AliExpress further increased by 348% (in number of visits) from July 2014 to July 2015, according to Similar Web.
Recently, AliExpress has multiplied initiatives to strengthen its leadership. The company reached agreements with the Russian Post and private shipping company SPSR Express to improve delivery conditions. It has teamed up with Russian online bank Tinkoff Bank and MasterCard to launch a co-branded loyalty program. In a pioneering move, AliExpress has also made mobile payment methods available to its Russian consumers, while its mother company Alibaba Group opened a Russian subsidiary with an office in Moscow.
Competition has increased noticeably over the past few months, however, with the entry of JD.COM and other Chinese players in the Russian e-commerce market.
In 2014 the Russian cross-border e-commerce market reached some $2.5 billion, according to the most conservative expert estimates, notes a market report by East-West Digital News. This market is expected to nearly double this year, with Chinese platforms capturing a growing share of the market.
The domestic online retail market neared $25 billion in total, including $14.5 billion for physical goods, according to Moscow-based market research company Data Insight.
