Fast Lane Ventures has partnered with Bonial International Group, a German company specializing in location-based shopping information services, to launch Lokata.ru, one of the first services of this kind in Russia.
Lokata is an online and mobile service providing shoppers with the information needed to make smart shopping decisions prior to them even entering the store. Users can identify stores nearby using search filters by product category, retailer and even brand. Users can also view online catalogs, which carry all of products available by participating retailers. When a retailer discounts a product, desired by the user, Lokata alerts them.
The service was just launched with a nationwide coverage, reported Fast Lane’s press service to East-West Digital News.
Lokata is a copycat of kaufDA, the German location-based shopping information platform. KaufDA claims to have recorded over one billion online catalog page views since its launch in late 2008. Its network now serves 32 million unique visitors per month. The service contains information of approximately 220,000 retail outlets in Germany.
After Axel Springer acquired a majority stake in kaufDA last year, the company’s management launched Bonial International Group to pursue similar projects outside of Germany. The first international extension, Bonial France, was launched at the end of 2011.
In Russia, Bonial has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Fast Lane Ventures, an investment company focusing on replicating and adapting successful Western models to the local market.
Fast Lane would not disclose financial details about the project; however, they emphasized the value of Bonial’s IT platform, as well as their own expertise of the Russian market.
