Sberbank intends to build a Russian analogue of Amazon

Sberbank closed the deal with Yandex.Market.
Sberbank and Yandex reported that they closed the deal - Yandex.Market becomes a joint venture. "We want to build a Russian Amazon on the basis of Yandex.Market, and I very much hope that we will succeed," said German Gref, president of Sberbank.

In the annual report for 2017, Sberbank explained that its participation in Yandex.Market is important both for the development of the digital ecosystem of the Sberbank itself, and for the country's economy as a whole. Partnership, according to its participants, will give new opportunities to the e-commerce market, small and medium-sized businesses, will help increase the export of Russian goods and open the Russian market to foreign participants.

 
The intention to create a joint venture in online commerce Sberbank and Yandex reported in August 2017. Sberbank bought back the newly issued shares of Yandex.Market for 30 billion rubles. The bank, as noted by its representative, has already transferred funds and received shares. As a result, each of the participants in the transaction has 45% of the shares of the joint venture. Another 10%, that is, 5% each of the parties, are allotted (transferred) to the optional fund for the Yandex.Market team. The enterprise, as then, is estimated at 60 billion rubles, the company said.

What will the Market do?

The company will have three main areas, Sberbank and Yandex reported. The first is an online platform for different sellers. They, they promise the company, will receive high-quality operating, financial and logistics services. Processing orders, serve customers and deliver goods will be "Yandex.Market."

The second direction is cross-border online trade. Third, the joint venture will continue to develop a product selection and price comparison service.

The general director of Yandex.Market will remain Maxim Grishakov. In the board of directors, in addition to Grishakov, both the first deputy governors of Sberbank, Lev Khasis and Maxim Poletayev, Yandex's operational director Greg Abovski, vice president for corporate development of Yandex Vadim Marchuk. The board will include two independent directors: Gabriel Nauri from Sberbank and John Oliver from Yandex.

Nauri is a senior adviser to the president of the Japanese retailer Aeon Group. Oliver is a senior adviser to TPG, since 2011 - chairman of the board of directors of the Russian retail chain Lenta.

What will work

In the third quarter of 2017, Yandex.Market revenue declined for the first time in the entire time that the company discloses its figures, by 12% yoy. In the fourth quarter, sales increased by 3%, in the first quarter of 2018, by the same 3% decreased and amounted to 1.3 billion rubles. Banks continue to mass-distribute credit cards

In 2018, the situation should be straightened out through advertising and marketing, the gradual improvement of the current product and the launch of new ones, Yabex promised to investors at the teleconference Abovski.

In 2017, Yandex.Market, according to the annual report of Sberbank, sold goods worth 150 billion rubles, the target figure that the site should reach in five years is 500 billion rubles.

 
To achieve such a turnover, sales through Yandex.Market should grow annually by 60%, says Data Insight partner Fedor Virin: "Yes, it is difficult to sustain linear growth rates of 60% a year, but investments are large, and this can happen" .

The online trade market in five years will reach about 2.3 trillion rubles., The president of the Association of Internet Trade Companies Alexei Fyodorov shares the forecast. "Sberbank is not very ambitious plans to increase the turnover of Yandex.Market," he said. - While this is the largest investment in Russian Internet commerce. He can take about a fifth of the market. " However, this goal is achievable only if the norms of cross-border trade are tightened, Fedorov believes: "If the current threshold of duty-free importation of purchases in foreign online stores continues, then at least 80% of the Russian market will account for foreign purchases in five years."