Chinese expansion does not scare Russian retailers
27.05.2015 4964

Chinese expansion does not scare Russian retailers

It is obvious that 2015 in Russian e-commerce will be marked by China. So, in mid-May it became known that the second largest and the first in terms of turnover Chinese online retailer JD.com was entering the market, and its plans are impressive: by 2020 the company intends to occupy 20% of the market and bring its turnover to $ 10 billion. competitor - AliExpress - found the first partner in Russia back in 2012, since then this platform controls the lion's share of cross-border online commerce in the country. About 200 thousand parcels travel from AliExpress warehouses to Russia every day, and on peak days their number reaches 2 million.

In 2014, the share of Chinese retailers in Russian e-commerce has doubled: now the share of Chinese online stores accounts for 70% of all purchases of Russians on foreign sites. Experts believe that this figure will only grow - both because of geopolitics and because of currency surges. Even with the current ruble exchange rate, goods from China, unlike Western ones, remain available to the mass buyer.

Last year, 15 million Russians used the services of Chinese online stores, they ordered about 50 million parcels. In monetary terms, the PRC share in the cross-border trade market reached 50%. Based on a market estimate of $ 5 billion in the 2014 year, we are talking about a minimum of $ 2,5 billion.

It would seem that such a rapid expansion from China should alert domestic players. But Russian online retailers are in no hurry to sound the alarm about this.

"There is nothing wrong with the emergence of a new Chinese Internet retailer on the Russian market. The structure of foreign and Russian purchases is different, and what is bought in China is not bought in Russia," says Fyodor Virin, an Internet marketing specialist and co-owner of the Data Insight research agency. - Therefore, JD.com can only be a threat to those Russian online retailers who are engaged in the resale of Chinese goods.

“In order to achieve the declared market share of 20%, JD.com will have to surprise Russian buyers with really low prices and short delivery times, including to the regions,” muses Ekaterina Stepanenko, business development manager at FM Logistic.

So any global changes due to the Chinese expansion are not worth the wait. Russian e-commerce will change, as will Russian retail as a whole. And the entry of new players from China to our market is due to the fact that their economy is changing too.

In the summer of 2015, the third large e-commerce project from China is to start working in the Russian Federation - the little-known TradeEase platform from the Heilongjiang province, which is near the border with Russia. The task is ambitious: to replace the traditional "shuttle" trade of border regions with online trade. The volume of trade between Heilongjiang and Russia over the past year is estimated at $ 23 billion, which is only slightly less than the estimate of the entire e-commerce market in the country and is equal to a quarter of trade between the countries. The capital of the project will include Yandex.Money, Bank of China, the provincial finance ministry, the Suifenhe city government and PayEase. It is expected that by the end of 2015 about a thousand companies will join TradeEase.

Obviously, 2015 year in Russian e-commerce will pass under the sign of China.
5
1
Rating

Latest News

Louis Vuitton's Speedy tops the list of best-selling luxury bags on the secondary market.

According to the 2026 report by leading US luxury resale platform Fashionphile, Chanel is the most sought-after brand, while Louis Vuitton has confirmed its status as the most purchased brand, writes Fashion…
16.10.2026 1604

Timberland and Jacquemus have released new versions of their crocodile-print topsiders.

Timberland and Jacquemus continue their collaboration, promoting preppy footwear. This fall season, the two released new versions of their topsiders in a collaboration…
16.10.2026 539

Hikes and Street Beat released a collaboration with artist Misha Nikatin.

The Hikes brand presents a winter collaboration with the multi-brand chain Street Beat, dedicated to the theme of travel and the connection between humanity and nature. The project is based on the work of artist Misha…
15.10.2026 619

The new adidas Originals x CLOT Superstar sneakers are a collaboration with Edison Chen.

adidas Originals and Hong Kong streetwear brand Clot, founded by Canadian actor Edison Chen, have unveiled the adidas Originals x CLOT Superstar collaboration. It includes two adidas footwear styles…
15.10.2026 7465

Clothing and footwear manufacturing will be included in the list of creative industries.

The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a draft order expanding the list of activities in the creative industries by almost 40% and adding mass production of clothing and footwear. Until now, this list only included…
14.10.2026 868
When you sign up, you will receive weekly news and articles about the shoe business on your e-mail.

To the beginning