For the first time since its inception nearly a decade ago, the American multinational corporation and e-commerce company eBay has launched a domestic selling business in Russia.
As part of its ongoing expansion spree in emerging markets, the online retailer has established a domestic rollout that will allow Russian retailers to connect with customers throughout the country by selling directly on eBay.
While speaking on the new initiative, Vladimir Dolgov, the head of eBay’s operations in Russia, states “One of eBay’s core differentiators in Russia is that we make it possible for Russians to shop the world. Now, by opening our domestic business, we are enabling Russians to shop their own country, and we’re supporting retailers in their goals to expand in ecommerce.”
Wendy Jones, the vice president of geo-expansion and cross-border trade also revealed in a statement “We have been very clear – growing our business in Russia is one of our top priorities in eBay’s global expansion efforts.”
"Over the past 18 months, we have been on an ambitious, focused journey to build a business in Russia, and by opening up our platform for Russian merchants, we are helping them extend and grow their existing business by reaching Russian customers they historically could not serve,” she adds.
Launched with a phased approach, the new service will enable a small number of local retailers, including Wikimart.ru and e5.ru, to enlist over 60,000 items in the beginning and these numbers will grow throughout 2015. During this phase, retailers will reach domestic Russian shoppers only. The firm expects to open up the Russian retailers’ inventory to a global customer base during 2015.
In its constant endeavour to focus on the Russian market, the company has earlier launched a localized mobile presence, a Russian web site, more tailored marketing initiatives and promotions, and a series of improvements in shipping, payments and other areas to accelerate its plans for the country.
Founded in 1995, headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay specializes in providing consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales services via Internet. The retailer runs operations localized in over thirty countries. (PB)
