In Russia, where e-commerce volumes reached the equivalent of $140 billion last year, online marketplace Wildberries has long been a market leader. Its growth is largely fueled by logistics. Over the last two years, the company has doubled the total space of its fulfilment centers to over 4 million square meters – the equivalent of nearly 600 football fields.
Having succeeded at home, Wildberries — which celebrated over two decades of operations this autumn — is now focused on expanding its model to neighboring countries across Eurasia. These include Central Asian states, where e-commerce is still relatively underdeveloped, and international competitors like Amazon and Alibaba do not have a direct presence – particularly in terms of logistics infrastructure that would ensure fast and convenient delivery.
Next year, Wildberries plans to open its first large, company-owned warehouses — each spanning over 100,000 square meters — in Belarus and in Kazakhstan’s two major cities, Astana and Almaty, with additional facilities planned in Uzbekistan later on. All of these will be the largest logistics objects in these countries and would cost Wildberries more than $400 million in total. The idea behind this push is to shorten delivery times to customers and boost turnover, including cross-border sales.
Paving Its Own Way
Wildberries was founded in October 2004 in Moscow by English teacher Tatyana Kim. While on maternity leave, she wanted to create a convenient online shopping experience for women like herself. Kim uploaded photos of clothing and footwear from German mail-order catalogs Otto and Quelle to the Wildberries website, allowing Russian women to order these items online without prepayment – a novelty at the time.
Customers could try on the items at pickup points – small, rented spaces on ground floors equipped with fitting rooms – and return anything that didn’t fit right on the spot. This innovative format played a key role in building consumer trust at a time when online shopping was still unfamiliar. Wildberries now has over 90,000 pickup points after increasing their number 1.5-fold in the past year alone. Most of these pickup points are run by local entrepreneurs, who earn income through their partnership with the company.
Over time, Wildberries transitioned to a marketplace model, allowing entrepreneurs to sell products they had produced or sourced on the platform in exchange for a commission. Wildberries eventually expanded from clothing and footwear into over 60 million SKUs. In 2024, the company’s sales exceeded RUB 4.1 trillion (more than $50 billion).
A New Phase of Growth
Wildberries now hosts over 1 million sellers across ten countries, and its customer base has reached nearly 80 million. Last year, Wildberries merged with the outdoor and digital advertising operator, Russ and began to offer new advertising opportunities on its platform. Tatyana Kim retained control of the merged company, Wildberries & Russ (RWB), and her net worth is estimated by Forbes at $7.1 billion.
“Every time I see millions of customers entrusting us with their purchases, and hundreds of thousands of sellers with their businesses, my heart fills with joy and pride,” Kim said in an October video message marking Wildberries’ 21st anniversary. “Not pride in the numbers, but in the fact that we’re doing what they truly need: making their lives more comfortable and shopping more convenient and faster.”
Currently, Wildberries sells products in seven countries in addition to Russia. These include Belarus, the fast-growing Central Asian countries Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the South Caucasus nations Armenia and Georgia. The company also partners with sellers from China and the UAE, allowing them to list their products on its marketplace, and has plans to expand further.
The countries where Wildberries operates differ significantly in terms of income levels and stages of e-commerce development. But with its unique model tailored to local specifics, Wildberries helps to remove entry barriers to online shopping for customers and sellers, develop local e-commerce logistics and infrastructure, and boost consumer trust As a result, buyers can choose from a wide variety of international products with convenient delivery while sellers can scale their business beyond their home country by gaining access to Wildberries’s nearly 80 million-strong customer base.
A Digital Future
Developing its own logistics infrastructure helps the company speed up delivery and facilitate cross-border trade. At its largest warehouses, Wildberries is actively implementing automation: robotic arms with suction cups are used to sort items, and automated ground vehicles transport shelving units within the facility, assisting human staff.
Wildberries is also leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance product discovery in its app – for example, through image-based search. Shoppers can also use a virtual fitting room that allows them to try on clothes using their own photo, while sellers can use AI tools to create product listings more efficiently – including by using AI-generated models to promote clothing items which eliminates the need for expensive photoshoots with real people.
Beyond online sales of goods and services (including travel and fintech services), Wildberries is testing new business areas, such as ready-to-eat food delivery and using its online storefront for car and real estate sales. In Belarus, the company is piloting its own online taxi service, like Uber. And the company said it is exploring the possibility of expanding into other emerging markets — for example, in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
According to Kim, “Wildberries has long since become more than just a marketplace – and even more than a digital platform. Wildberries is a way of life for millions of people – their emotions, dreams, and inspirations.” As e-commerce and digital services continue to gain a foothold in Eurasia and other emerging markets, Wildberries will be a key player to watch.
