Russia’s leading online retailer Ozon.ru is celebrating securing a cash injection worth around 71 million Euros. Author: Joe Elvin
Russia’s leading online retailer Ozon.ru is celebrating securing a cash injection worth around 71 million Euros.
A coalition of venture capital firms, including Japanese online retailer Ratuken, struck a deal with the website (often described as Russia’s answer to amazon.com) earlier this week.
The deal represents the biggest ever investment in Russia’s e-commerce market.
Speaking shortly after the company’s announcement, Ozon.ru’s chief executive Maelle Gavet predicted that the investment will be a catalyst for many more online business to emerge and prosper throughout Russia.
Although relatively few Russians own credit cards, she claimed that the attitude to buying via online payment services in the country was beginning to change.
In an interview with Reuters, she said: “From an investor perspective, there is definitely a change. The market is becoming more known, less scary. From the consumer perspective, what happened in the U.S 10 years ago and Europe five years ago is now happening in Russia.
“People are beginning to understand that e-commerce is easy and safe.”
Despite only 43 per cent of the population currently having home internet access, Russia has the second largest market of internet users in Europe. Only Germany has more a higher population of internet users.
What’s more, according to The Guardian, it has been predicted that Russians will spend around 600bn roubles via internet merchant accounts next year.
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