Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries has launched direct cross-border sales from Belarus, Kazakhstan and China to Russian consumers, the company announced on June 23, presenting the move as a pilot project.
Cross-border delivery of goods will be carried out both by Wildberries’ own logistics service (for example, in Belarus and Kazakhstan) and via international logistics partners (in China and other countries).
Russians will be able to receive parcels from foreign sellers at Wildberries’ order pick-up points. Delivery of orders to buyers will be free and will take from several days to two weeks, depending on the country of the seller, the company said.
“We strive to make purchases on Wildberries even more profitable for Russians: to offer more goods at attractive prices, and fast delivery from reliable logistics partners will significantly reduce the time it takes to receive orders for cross-border purchases,” the Wildberries press service said.
In the future, Wildberries will bring goods to Russia from “manufacturers from the European Union” and “other countries” where it already works.
Where Wildberries currently operates
In addition to Russia, its home market, Wildberries runs operations in several countries of the former Soviet Union: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as well as Ukraine (via its Polish subsidiary).
Earlier this year, the online retailer launched sales on four major EU markets (France, Italy, Spain and Germany) and in the US. The Russian e-commerce company also operates in Poland (since January 2020), Slovakia (since May 2020) and Israel (since December 2020).
Wildberries reported total sales of more than $6 billion in 2020 (up from $3.3 million in 2019, according to DataInsight), including around $423 million generated outside Russia (according to Kommersant).
This is an adapted version of a story from bne Intellinews, a partner of East-West Digital News.
