Russian E-Commerce Group Opens Office in China to Lift Sales

The world's second-largest economy was under strain due to weak global and domestic demand, manufacturing disruptions brought on by Covid, and a downturn in real estate prices at home. Photo: Reuters

Russian companies have been moving to boost business ties with China after Western nations imposted sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

One of the latest to do this was online retailer Ozon Holdings, which said on Monday it was opening an office in Shenzhen in China to boost cross-border sales to Russian shoppers on its platform.

It follows a similar move into Turkey earlier this year by the e-commerce outfit, and comes at time when the Russian economy is trying to pivot away from Western markets and forge new supply chains with countries like China, Turkey and Iran.

Ozon said in a statement it already had 10,000 Chinese sellers offering goods to Russian customers on its marketplace, with China accounting for 95% of sales through its cross-border sales unit, Ozon Global.

“Chinese products are in high demand in Russia,” Ozon said, adding that, “the most popular orders from China are usually electronics – smartphones, laptops and computer parts – as well as small appliances and clothing.”

It, however, did not specify when will the office be fully operational.

Many major Western consumer brands stopped sales in Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February, and Chinese brands including Huawei and Xiaomi have gained ground in the Russian market this year.

Last week, Ozon reported a 48% jump in third-quarter total revenue to 61.5 billion roubles ($1.01 billion).