Russia's Ozon opens Turkish office to help consumer goods flow to home market

Ozon Holdings

30/08/2022 11:57

* This content was produced in Russia where the law
restricts
coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

    MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Russian e-commerce firm Ozon
 OZON.O  said on Tuesday it would open a local office in Turkey
and make it easier for consumers to make cross-border orders,
helping Russian shoppers to buy goods directly from Turkish
sellers on its platform.
    As Western sanctions have rained down on Russia over its
actions in Ukraine, commercial ties between Moscow and Ankara
have grown in some areas.
    "Ozon sees growing demand for goods from Turkish sellers and
plans to strengthen its position in the local market. In the
first half of 2022, the number of sellers from Turkey doubled
year-on-year, while goods turnover from Turkey to Russia
tripled," Ozon said in a statement.
    Unlike the European Union, Ankara did not impose sanctions
on Russia over what Moscow calls its "special military
operation" in Ukraine, and is boosting economic ties with
Russian firms that are scrambling to establish new supply chains
and sources of finance.
    A strong rouble and falling lira have helped boost Russian
demand for Turkish goods.
    In addition to a new office in Istanbul, Ozon said it would
halve delivery times for goods from Turkey to Russia to 6-8 days
and start offering support in the Turkish language to encourage
more sellers to join its online marketplace.
    Ozon's Turkey Director Hazal Maras said Ozon wanted to help
Turkish sellers establish a flow of sales from Turkey to Russia.
    In July, Ozon started selling goods in Russia through a
parallel imports scheme - a high-profile drive from the Kremlin
to allow retailers to import goods without the trademark owner's
permission.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2YA1OI
    First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on Monday hailed
that scheme as helping Russia's economy withstand the hit of
sanctions.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2XR025
    Ozon is one of Russia's largest e-commerce sites, along with
privately held Wildberries. The company raised nearly $1 billion
in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq at the end of 2020
in a launch that kickstarted a mini-IPO boom for Russian firms. 

 (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Jan Harvey)