YEREVAN, April 4. /ARKA/. The first business forum for entrepreneurs in Armenia "COM.E On" about working with Ozon was held in Yerevan. The target audience were sellers of online stores, marketplaces, owners of order delivery points and all entrepreneurs who want to engage in e-commerce.

According to Alexey Sapon, Ozon's Director of Operations and Development for CIS, the main goals of the forum was the opportunity to connect to the marketplace and sell through Ozon, as well as to inform that in addition to the large Russian market, there is also a growing e-commerce market within Armenia.

A number of already implemented and planned solutions were presented at the forum, aimed at eliminating the shortcomings that have arisen in terms of logistics since the launch of Ozon in Armenia.

Why a seller and a buyer in Armenia should choose Ozon

"Ozon, first of all, is one of the most popular marketplaces on the Runet: out of 72 million users, 46 million use Ozon. Accordingly, this is a place where a large number of buyers are interested in sellers, and we, in turn, give convenient and good products for the seller: it is easy for them to come in and quickly make the first actions of registration and reach the first sales," - said Sapon.

"Above expectations" or what are the peculiarities of the Armenian market?

Noting that the total turnover of Ozon by the end of 2023 amounted to 1.7 trillion rubles, Sapon explained that the company considers the Armenian market as a promising one.

"It is growing and growing multiples. We launched only last year and we already have good growth rates in Armenia, which we plan to maintain and grow further," the CIS director said.

Among the peculiarities of the Armenian market, he pointed to the great business activity.

"Here in Armenia we have seen a very big desire and entrepreneurial activity, in particular in small and medium businesses, to develop order delivery points, as well as activity of sellers in terms of willingness to register and supply goods to the marketplace. This is above our expectations and higher than we have seen in other countries," said Sapon.

Competition and advantages

Ozon's Commercial Director in Armenia Ashot Hakhverdyan also pointed to the great activity of the domestic marketplace.

"Our experience and the reaction that the market shows, this synergy will help us to develop very actively. The local team can meet in the field, help sellers, which is something you can't say about other competitors who are also doing this business. That's our advantage here, and it allows us to believe that we will be able to achieve our goals," he said.

Sapon, for his part, said that given the presence of other players in the market as well, the Ozon team knows and understands that the company's range is in demand.

"We treat any competitors with respect, because the stronger the competitor, the stronger we should become," he said.

What is most bought and sold in Armenia

Electronics, small household appliances, cosmetics, baby care products, pet food and vitamins are the most in demand among buyers in Armenia.

"Already more than 2,500 entrepreneurs in Armenia have registered on Ozon as sellers. The main categories in which they operate are electronics, home goods, beauty and health. More than 5000 orders per day are already made in Armenia, and this is 170 thousand users of our application every month," explained the Director for Armenia, adding that this audience will grow.

Besides, according to him, the number of orders doubles every month, and the turnover of sellers triples every month.

Logistics: difficulties and solutions

The startup in Armenia was not without difficulties: there were problems with logistics, there were returns, and not all the assortment was available to Armenian customers.

"We faced a large number of orders that we didn't expect. The sorting center in Yerevan, our warehousing capabilities and working conditions in Russia did not allow us to cope with the volume of orders. That is why they took a long time to arrive, sometimes they were "stuck", and sellers faced a large number of returns. Not all the assortment was available to Armenian buyers," Hakhverdyan explained.

The CIS director also pointed out the problems. "The speed of delivery of goods from Yerevan to Moscow was 12 days. Of course, the long term increases customer dissatisfaction and increases returns of goods. Seeing this problem, we took care to solve it," Sapon said.

In particular, in April, packing of goods will be launched at the warehouse in Armenia - it is enough to bring the goods ordered online to the sorting center, where they will be packed.

In May, the cross-docking service will be introduced. "You will need to bring a batch of goods, drop it off here at the sorting center, and we will move that goods to the warehouse for placement," Sapon said, adding that this is to "reach" the buyer in Russia in  short period of time.

In addition, in June, there will be an opportunity to store goods in a warehouse in Yerevan. "Those goods that you plan to sell on the marketplace can be placed for storage here at the warehouse," he said.

Due to these measures it is planned to increase the frequency of deliveries: if now shipments from Armenia to Russia occur 2-3 times a week, the nearest plans are to bring this figure to 5-7 times a week.

As for why certain goods are unavailable in Armenia, the speakers believe that it all rests on official legislative restrictions on international trade, as well as logistical limitations.

"Not all goods can be transported quickly and easily between countries. This is the sole reason for the limitation for Armenia as a buyer of goods on Ozon. But at the same time it is a huge opportunity for sellers, particularly from Armenia, to sell those goods that are not available for orders from Russia," Hakhverdyan said, adding that sellers can close this niche and sell goods on the local market for Armenian buyers.

How the state can help with logistics problems

Karen Muradyan, Advisor to the Department of Trade and Integration of the Armenian Ministry of Economy, recalled the recurring problem with transportation of goods through the Upper Lars checkpoint. He added that the Ministry of Economy deals with the issue on a daily basis.

"We receive signals from our economic entities about the existing certain restrictions. If these restrictions are not related to climatic conditions, we apply any, including administrative measures to establish the exit of our goods to the territory of the Russian Federation," he said, specifying that this work is carried out in cooperation with Russian colleagues.

The employee of the Ministry of Economy also reminded about the development of using the ferry crossing from the port of Poti to the port of Novorossiysk. According to him, this route is not actively considered for a number of objective reasons - it is more expensive and longer in terms of time.

"We still have several routes in development, but this is a larger issue than just the delivery of goods from point A to point B. This is a big regional project," Muradyan said.

About Ozon

Ozon is a leading multi-category marketplace and one of the largest Internet companies in Russia. The site offers more than 370 million product names in more than 20 categories. Ozon has one of the largest logistics networks in Russia and the CIS with full-field infrastructure, sorting centers, and darkstores with a total area of over 2.5 million square meters.

In 2023, the number of active buyers increased by 31% over the year to 46 million. The number of orders on Ozon last year doubled to 950 million. The number of sellers on Ozon exceeded 450 thousand.

Since 2020, Ozon has been developing international business. At the moment the company operates in 8 countries: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, China, Turkey.

About Ozon Armenia

Ozon launched sales for residents of Armenia in July 2023. The company opened a representative office in Yerevan and launched its own sorting center in the Armenian capital with an area of 2 thousand square meters. In August 2023, Ozon launched franchised order points in Armenia. In November 2023, the company announced that the first Ozon points of delivery were opened in Armenia. At the moment 192 points of order delivery are opened across the country. -0-