Wildberries looks to Russia’s neighbors to avoid Ukrainian drones

Wildberries, Russia's largest online marketplace, is shifting logistics to warehouses in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus due to Ukrainian drone strikes on its hubs, according to independent outlet The Moscow Times. Employees have informed sellers that long-term stock will now be stored in these countries. The impact on prices, delivery times, and shipping methods will be explained later.

Wildberries already possesses some foreign warehouses, both owned and rented, and is gradually rerouting merchandise to these locations. However, each time the company instructs employees to send goods to a new warehouse, drones strike it. This move may reduce Wildberries' competitiveness in terms of delivery time and cost. Long-term storage warehouses account for approximately 70 to 80 percent of revenue for major sellers on the platform.

These sellers claim that direct delivery from their own warehouses benefits small and medium-sized merchants. Sellers also point out that cross-border commercial goods movement necessitates customs declarations, and many Wildberries sellers lack these declarations as their merchandise entered Russia through unregulated channels.

Big suppliers and manufacturers are expected to handle this, but small and medium-sized sellers may encounter difficulties. Concerns have been raised that rerouting imports from China through Kazakhstan could increase low-cost Chinese goods on Wildberries, potentially disadvantaging Russian sellers. One entrepreneur believes that Wildberries will not fail due to Ukrainian drones, but rather because of the affordability of Chinese goods.