Ulmart Yulmart

The Ulmart retail network is one of the players in the retail market for equipment, laptops, computers and components for PCs in, St. Petersburg,, To Moscow, and Kazan. Krasnodar Nizhny Novgorod Rostov-on-Don

In July 2016, Ulmart was the largest online store in Russia, according to Ruward and Data Insight.

The principles of operation of self-service supermarkets "Ulmart" are based on the format of sales of computer and household appliances "from the catalog," which allows to minimize operating costs and ensure low prices.

As of January 2015 , the Ulmar t has about 90,000 items of goods: from state-of-the-art ultrabooks, smartphones and household appliances to car tires, engine oils, children's goods and household goods. According to the company, "Ulmart" has over four hundred representative offices (cyber markets and points of issue of orders Ulmart Outpost) in more than two hundred cities of Russia. More than thirteen million residents of Russia are loyal clients of Ulmart.

Performance indicators

2014: Sales of $1.3 billion excluding VAT

 On January 20, 2015, Ulmart summed up the preliminary results of the company's activities in 2014. According to preliminary estimates of auditors, the company's sales in dollar terms amounted to about $1.3 billion excluding VAT. This total includes the operating results of Dream Industries and No Limit Electronics (NLE), the acquisition of which Ulmart completed in 2014.

High demand and a strategy of flexible gross margin management allowed the Internet retailer to reach a fifty percent excess of the sales plan during the pre-New Year fever period, while maintaining an adequate inventory for the first quarter of 2015.

"This will keep prices at the same level,  unlike competitors who are forced to wait for new February deliveries at new prices, almost twice as high as the summer prices,  " comments Dmitry Kostygin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ulmart.  "This will lead to a collapse in sales in January and February, as a result of which several large players may leave the market and shift customers to more stable sellers."

In addition to financial growth, Ulmart paid great attention to regional development and development policy. In 2014, the company opened several new fulfillment centers (CIZ):  in Rostov-on-Don, Tula and Izhevsk. Thus, "Ulmart" approached the Urals, and the logistics infrastructure of the company at the beginning of 2015 has 32 CIZs in five federal districts of Russia.

 In 2014, the construction of a second investment project  in St. Petersburg, on Pulkovskoye Shosse, started, and  permission was obtained to build a third facility at the intersection of Piskarevskoye Shosse and KAD. By the end of the first half of 2015, Ulmart plans to obtain two more permits for the construction of new logistics centers in Mytishchi near Moscow and on Sofiyskaya Street in St. Petersburg. Ulmart managed to agree on the financing of development projects by Bank St. Petersburg  and GC Region. According to the company, the new highly efficient square meters will significantly increase sales in 2015 and even more   in 2016.

"We entered the new year with a sufficient inventory at the old prices, due to which we expect to break away from competitors in the first quarter of 2015  ," Dmitry Kostygin continues to comment on the finished results. - We plan to increase the dollar level of sales in 2015 compared to the results of 2014. This means that the ruble revenue of Ulmart, we hope, will amount to at least one hundred billion. Since costs will mostly remain at the ruble level of 2014  , as a result we will be able to achieve exceptional indicators: according to the first estimate, Ulmart EBITDA in 2015 may be 6%, and net profit - 2%. "

The company's executives spent 2014 on an investment tour in the cities of the USA, Western Europe  and Asia. In 2015, Ulmart plans to continue its investment program and will pay special attention to the retailer's representation at the international level and among global investors. The company's management is preparing Ulmart for placement on stock exchanges in 2016 with a preliminary estimate from investment bankers of five to six billion dollars and raising one billion dollars for further development.

History

2023: Ex-co-owner of Ulmart released from jail on bail

The co-owner of the Riv Ghosh perfume store chain and the former owner of Ulmart, August Meyer, was released from the pre-trial detention center on bail of 30 million rubles. This was announced on January 12, 2023 by the businessman's lawyer Oleg Tkachenko. Read more here.

2021: Ex-co-owner of Ulmart detained in the case of embezzlement of ₽2,3 billion from Sberbank

On December 8, 2021, it became known about the detention of the co-owner of the once largest Internet retailer Ulmart in Russia, August Meyer, as well as his wife and business partner Inna. Read more here.

2020

Bankruptcy of Yulmart co-owner Kostygin at VTB suit

On November 24, 2020, the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region declared Dmitry Kostygin bankrupt at the suit of VTB. The bank announced the debt of the co-owner of the bankrupt Internet retailer Ulmart in the amount of 644.28 million rubles. Read more here.

Sale of property after bankruptcy

On September 23, 2020, the estimated market value of the intellectual property of Ulmart, which was previously declared bankrupt, became known. The company's property will be sold off.

As Kommersant writes with reference to the report data published on Fedresurs, as part of the bankruptcy of Ulmart (until 2017 it acted as the operating structure of the online retailer of the same name), the market price of its intellectual property, primarily trademarks, is estimated at 399 million rubles. At the same time, the value at which these assets are recorded on the company's balance sheet is 3.2 billion rubles.

According to the document, the assessment considered 62 trademarks (Yulmart, Ulmart, Cybermarket, Yu, etc.), one patent and one non-exclusive trademark license. The highest estimated value - at 12.7 million rubles apiece - was received by variations of the Ulmart trademark. The report was prepared by FC - Legal Services LLC.

Bankrupt "Ulmart" sells property. Trademarks of the Internet retailer are estimated at 400 million rubles

Experts interviewed by Kommersant noted that popular brands are usually in demand at auction, but are often sold at a price below the estimated price. In the case of "Ulmart," consumers still have loyalty to the once famous online network, so with proper marketing, trademarks can be "revived," said Ivan Kurguzov, executive director of Оборот.ру.

When it comes to brands for labeling goods, it is easier to sell them, but with the segment of services it is more difficult, says Konstantin Suvorov, partner of the law firm Kosenkov and Suvorov.

In this case, the signs can be useful for launching an online business, so some specific buyer should come to them. And it is unlikely that it will be possible to help out a significant part of the value in which the appraisers estimated them, "he said.[1]

Declaration of bankruptcy

On February 18, 2020, the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region declared Ulmart bankrupt. Bankruptcy proceedings for 6 months have been introduced against the retailer. 

Discontinue the follow-up procedure for NAO Ulmart. To declare him insolvent (bankrupt), - says the website of the file cabinet of arbitration cases.

Under the observation procedure, "Ulmart" fell in June 2018. After that, the company transferred its operating activities to a new legal entity - Yulmarket LLC.

In other structures of Ulmart, LLC Ulmart RSK and LLC Ulmart PZK, bankruptcy proceedings have also been opened. In addition, in January 2020, Yulmarket LLC filed a lawsuit for its own bankruptcy with arbitration.

By February 19, 2020, a significant part of the Ulmart points of issue was closed. But the company's website continues to work and offer shopping.^[2]

Financial problems with "Ulmart" were discovered against the background of the conflict, when shareholders differed in their views on the development of the company. Dmitry Kostygin offered Mikhail Vasinkevich to add $30 million to the company's capital, but he refused and demanded the redemption of his share through a London court. Then Kostygin was charged with fraud with credit funds of Sberbank in the amount of 1 billion rubles, and the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg declared Vasinkevich bankrupt at the suit of Kostygin.

Vasinkevich initiated the appointment by the store management company of the international structure Alvarez & Marsal, specializing in anti-crisis management. Kosygin opposed this. Final agreements on the settlement of the conflict between its parties were never reached.

Against the background of conflicts, Ulmart faced a shortage of funds and began looking for investments in the amount of 9 billion rubles, reduced employees and partially closed regional offices.

2018: 2-fold reduction in rental and transport logistics costs

On March 19, 2019, Ulmart announced the completion of optimization and expansion of its presence in the North-West, South and Central Russia.

In 2018, the company revised its approach to regional development. The online retailer opened 14 fulfillment centers of the updated format and expanded the network of order points, restored work in the regions that the company had previously left, and launched outlets in various cities.

In 2018, Ulmart completed a network optimization project and opened additional retail facilities. Fulfillment centers appeared in the North-West, Central and Southern federal districts: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, [Kirishakh, Volkhov. More discoveries are expected in 2019.

This network development strategy involves the launch of small CIZs with an area of ​ ​ 300-1000 square meters with an extensive warehouse in key cities of presence, both large and small, with a choice of 10,000 SKUs of the main product categories: from smartphones and gadgets to goods for sport and. tourism The main priority is to increase the efficiency of facilities due to a wide range of goods on a smaller retail area compared to objects of the old format.

In total, the retailer rented more than 6,000 square meters of retail space. The company is actively developing flexible formats for working with suppliers within the marketplace, including commission trading, which makes it possible to significantly increase the number of goods in stock and contributes to an increase in the number of orders.

Focusing on the demand of buyers, Ulmart integrates with large logistics operators, and significantly increased the network of delivery points to 1000 points through cooperation with DPD. Ulmart customers can pick up orders at the points of issue of orders and partner posts in the North-West, Central, Volga, Ural, Southern, North Caucasian federal districts, as well as in test mode in Siberia.

To increase customer loyalty in the Volga Federal District, where the company was presented at the beginning of 2018 without its own infrastructure (only with partner points of issue), Ulmart launched Ulmart Outpost points (Saratov, Kazan). At such points, the retailer can offer buyers an expanded pool of services, including post-warranty service, as well as services for legal entities.

Regional development is one of the priority areas of work for Ulmart. Thanks to the launch of additional formats, relocation and replacement of a number of retail facilities with more efficient ones, we managed to reduce rental and transport logistics costs by 2 times in 2018. Strengthening positions in small cities of Russia allows you to become more accessible and closer to buyers.

2017

Ulmart will suspend sales in the regions

Online retailer Ulmart may suspend sales in some regions of its presence in January 2018. This was reported to RNS in the press service of the company. According to a network representative, Ulmart "will continue to implement a cost reduction program, which implies the temporary closure of facilities for modernization, followed by their opening after the necessary measures are taken." The company assured that the "temporary closure" will last only until the end of the first month of the year.

Mass layoffs

At the end of 2017, online retailer Ulmart carried out a massive reduction of employees before completely stopping its activities. The management invited employees of the structures of the NAO Ulmart and Ulmart RSK to write letters of resignation of their own free will from December 29, the Fontanka newspaper reports, citing sources within the company. As explained to employees, this is due to the possible termination of the company's work from the beginning of 2018^[3].

Fontanka sources note that the management offers compensation - in the amount of salary to those persons who have worked in the company for more than two years, and in the amount of half the salary to everyone else. According to Delovoy Petersburg, the company intends to work as a legal entity of Yulmarket LLC from the beginning of 2018. Some of the dismissed employees will be transferred to this legal entity.

Sberbank became interested in the share in the retailer "Ulmart"

Sberbank was negotiating with Dmitry Kostygin, co-owner of the Ulmart retailer, to sell a stake in the retail network. Kostygin's lawyer Yerlan Kasenov told about this, Vedomosti writes in November 2017. "Between Ulmart in the person of Kostygin and Sberbank in the person of the first deputy chairman of the board Lev Khasis, since March 2017, negotiations have been going on the sale of Ulmart shares," the lawyer said.

The piquancy of the situation is added by the fact that the businessman is currently under house arrest. He was charged under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Fraud in the field of lending" at the request of Sberbank. This became known in mid-October. As stated in the UK, Dmitry Kostygin provided the bank with deliberately false data on the financial condition of Ulmart to obtain a loan of a billion rubles.

Sberbank confirmed that they were studying the state of affairs in the retail network for possible investments. However, the case was limited to this, they said. "The bank's profile division conducted an analysis of Ulmart as a potential investment facility in the same way as it analyzes many other assets on the market. In this case, the condition for the start of substantive negotiations was the settlement of the retailer's problematic debt, the resolution of the corporate conflict, as well as a thorough pre-investment audit. None of these conditions were met, "German Gref, a representative of the credit institution, explained to the publication.

Ulmart 's debt to Sberbank exceeded 1.5 billion

Sberbank's subsidiary, Sberbank Factoring, sued NAO Ulmart (one of the structures of the Ulmart online store) 314.5 million rubles: 306.9 million rubles. debt and 7.6 million rubles. penalties. The decision on the claim was made by the arbitration court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region on September 29, 2017.

A day earlier, on September 28, the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal confirmed the legality of the decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court, which in early July 2017, at the suit of Sberbank factoring, ordered Ulmart to pay debts and penalties to this organization in the amount of about 783.7 million rubles.

In addition, Sberbank Factoring even earlier filed a lawsuit against Ulmart for 437.6 million rubles. In April 2017, the Moscow Arbitration Court granted it, and in July the ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal rejected the appeal filed by Ulmart. Thus, the total encumbrance of the Internet holding has now reached an amount of 1.54 billion rubles.

Sberbank won two courts with Ulmart on debt in the amount of 1.2 billion rubles.

In early July 2017, Sberbank Factoring (a subsidiary of Sberbank) won a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court against NAO Ulmart (one of the structures of the Ulmart online store) to recover debts in the amount of 780 million rubles, Interfax reports. This amount includes the main debt of 706 million rubles. and penalties.^[4]

Earlier, the largest shareholder of Ulmart Dmitry Kostygin spoke about his intention to agree with Sberbank on the repayment of this debt. The representative of Ulmart himself stated the same during the process.

However, as a representative of Sberbank Factoring told Interfax, negotiations on the conclusion of an amicable agreement were indeed conducted, but "stopped immediately after the court hearings."

Photo source: www.retail-loyalty.org

Earlier, the Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied another claim of Sberbank Factoring against NAO Ulmart - for 440 million rubles. Thus, Sberbank has currently sued 1.2 billion rubles from Ulmart.

Agreement with Uralsib on debt restructuring for 750 million rubles

In April 2017, it was announced that Ulmart had agreed with Uralsib Bank to restructure a 750 million ruble loan issued to the company in 2016. The funds received were aimed at replenishing working capital.

As a result of negotiations that lasted from November 2016 to February 2017, the parties agreed on mutually beneficial conditions for debt restructuring while maintaining the previous lending conditions with the assistance of the third company, which is part of the portfolio of assets of the majority shareholder of Ulmart Dmitry Kostygin. The structure of the transaction has been agreed, the full package of documents on it has been signed by both parties.

"Ulmart aims to maintain partnerships with all its creditors," said Dmitry Kostygin. - Uralsib Bank supported constructive intentions, as a result of which we managed to reach agreements on the conditions for restructuring satisfying both sides and further interaction within the framework of the current debt^[5]

Kostygin: Vasinkevich's share will be bought by the company itself if it finds money

In March 2017, it was announced that the company itself was ready to buy out Mikhail Vasinkevich's stake. Dmitry Kostygin said that a framework agreement was signed with Mikhail Vasinkevich. He expects that a binding agreement will be signed in mid-April, and Vasinkevich's share will be fully purchased in June. Negotiations and discussion of the terms of the agreement with Mikhail Vasinkevich went on for 3 months.

Dmitry Kostygin did not name the amount of the transaction, but clarified that we are talking about billions of rubles. The company definitely has half of the necessary funds, but in order to fully buy out the share, it will be necessary to attract an investor, says Dmitry Kostygin. It is planned that the future partner will contribute these funds to the company, after which the deal with Mikhail Vasinkevich will be closed.

many friends, the question is that no one wants to talk while there are claims from Sberbank. At least a framework agreement with the bank is needed, "says Dmitry Kostygin

Meanwhile, Sberbank on March 16 filed a new lawsuit with the Dzerzhinsky District Court against August Mayer, Dmitry Kostygin, Mikhail Vasinkevich and ex-general director of the company Sergei Fedorinov. According to Dmitry Kostygin, this lawsuit is related to Sberbank's claims against the company^[6].

2016

Ulmart co-owner: Shareholder conflict leaves company losing 10 billion in a year

Due to the conflict of shareholders, the Russian online store selling non-food products and digital content Ulmart may lose 10 billion rubles^[7].

As the co-owner and majority shareholder of the company Dmitry Kostygin said in an interview with the correspondent of Delovoy Petersburg, Ulmart's turnover in 2016 will amount to 55 billion rubles. instead of the planned 65 billion rubles.

At the same time, according to the shareholder, the further development of the conflict may aggravate the situation of the Internet retailer. In response, his partner Mikhail Vasinkevich (founder of the Donna Union Foundation, which owns 38.5% of Ulmart) said that Dmitry Kostygin himself was to blame for the losses, who "is trying to shift responsibility for his management mistakes to a corporate conflict."

According to Mikhail Vasinkevich, after Dmitry Kostygin completely concentrated the operational management of the retailer in his hands and began to lend to personal projects instead of reducing Ulmart's accounts payable, the company "never reached its targets." In response to this statement, Dmitry Kostygin accused the partner of destabilizing the situation in the company and creating obstacles to the choice of the general director.

Sberbank demanded a billion from Ulmart

Sberbank filed a lawsuit in November against the Ulmart retail chain, in which it demanded a recovery of 1 billion 7 million rubles. The relevant information is published in the file of arbitration cases. A hearing on the lawsuit has not yet been scheduled.

The bank demanded to repay the debt on one of the loans ahead of schedule, RBC reported. One of the shareholders of the network Dmitry Kostygin has already told the publication that, together with another co-owner August Meyer, he is ready to repay the loan from his own funds.

It cannot be ruled out that the filing of the claim was provoked by Ulmart itself. In mid-November, the company petitioned the court for interim measures as part of its bankruptcy case. Ulmart asked to prohibit a number of creditor banks from writing off funds from accounts to pay off debt on loans without the consent of the company itself (this was provided for by loan agreements). Judge Marina Antipinskaya granted the petition. Among the "unhappy" was Sberbank.

The very bankruptcy case of Ulmart associated by the media with a confusing internal corporate conflict. A certain Oleg Morozov filed a lawsuit, formally a private creditor. In turn, a representative of one of the co-owners of the Donna Union Foundation chain told RBC that Morozov is associated with the aforementioned Dmitry Kostygin.

Donna Union Foundation (acting in the interests of Mikhail Vasinkevich) owns 38.5% of the network, Ulmart Holding Limited Kostygin - 31.6%, Svoboda Corporation August Meyer - 29.9%. At the beginning of the year, the partners could not agree on the company's development strategy and on the appointment of a CEO. The position of the latter has been vacant for several months.

In December 2016, the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg banned Oleg Morozov from exercising the rights of the retailer's creditor. The decision was made at the suit of Sberbank to challenge the cession agreement. The bank then explained that "the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg accepted for consideration the claim of Sberbank to challenge the cession, as a result of which the rights of claim for more than 240 million rubles to Ulmart passed from the retailer's shareholder Dmitry Kostygin to Oleg Morozov."

Shareholder conflict

In November 2016, the board of directors of Ulmart Holdings Limited (UHL), the parent company of the Ulmart group registered in Malta, did not approve the management company, UHL said in a statement. Since Ulmart CEO Sergei Fedorinov left, the company has been led by a managing committee. For several months, the board of directors discussed various decisions on the choice of the management company.

The board of directors of Ulmart includes employees of A1 (the investment division of Alfa Group) Artyom Artyukhov and Alan Bayramkulov. They represent the interests of the Donna Union Foundation, a minority shareholder of the Ulmart group. They blocked the proposal of Dmitry Kostygin and August Meyer, the majority shareholders of UHL, to approve Yulmart Development as the management company responsible for the implementation of investment projects, construction, acquisition and lease of commercial real estate.

According to representatives of Mikhail Vasinkevich, the company was not competent enough in managing the entire group of companies of the online retailer. In turn, minority shareholders offered the Russian representative office of the international consulting company Alvarez & Marsal, which has great expertise in anti-crisis management. Both sides voted against their opponents' candidates. After that, representatives of the majority shareholders left the board of directors of the parent company "Ulmart" altogether, actually paralyzing its work. The company cannot choose a governing body and has been working without a CEO for several months.

Representatives of Alpha were brought to Ulmart by one of the company's large shareholders, Mikhail Vasinkevich, a source familiar with the situation told Roy!^[8].

At this time, Vasinkevich is fighting Kostygin and Meyer for control of the company.

After several boards of directors, on November 17, 2016, majority shareholders blocked the work of the next board of directors of Ulmart, which took place the day before, on November 16. The day before the meeting of the board of directors of Ulmart Holding Limited, the parent company of the online retailer Ulmart, scheduled for November 16, two representatives of the majority shareholders - Sergey Belyakov and Oleg Markin, who represented Svoboda Corporation (Meyer) and Koshigi Ltd (Kostygin) on the board of directors, respectively. To make decisions at the meeting, it was necessary to have at least three members of the board of directors, clarified the interlocutor of RBC^[9]

The formal cause of the conflict is a debt of 555 million rubles. In the fall of 2016, Gazprombank prematurely presented Ulmart with a loan refund, and Dmitry Kostygin repaid it from his own funds. Since Vasinkevich was also the guarantor of the loan, Kostygin sued Vasinkevich and secured the arrest of his assets.

Mikhail Vasinkevich believes that the lawsuit against him was created artificially.

"A few days before the repayment date of Gazprombank's loan, at a meeting of Ulmart Holding directors, the issue of the sources of repayment of the loan was raised and Galina Nesterova, financial director of Ulmart NAO, stated that the company had enough funds to independently repay. After that, Kostygin bought out the requirements for a loan from Gazprombank in the amount of 555 million rubles, according to which there is my personal guarantee, as well as guarantees of the companies LLC "Ulmart-RSK," LLC "Ulmart-PZK" and LLC "Yulmart Development" and immediately, without making claims against the debtor, not any company from the Ulmart group, brought a personal lawsuit against me and my property was seized as an interim measure, "Vasinkevich said.

After that, Kostygin transferred the debt to the Baltic Electronic Platform company, which specializes in resolving controversial and crisis corporate situations. After that, the Baltic Electronic Platform announced that it intends to apply to the arbitration court with an application for bankruptcy of Ulmart, as well as companies affiliated with it.

A way out of the situation could be to raise funds from shareholders to pay off the debt, but the representative of Alpha at the council blocked this proposal, wrote the publication Roy! Representatives of Mikhail Vasinkevich told TAdviser that this information is not true.

The cause of the conflict and in different views of shareholders on the future of the company: Mikhail Vasinkevich and Dmitry Kostygin differed in views on the further development of Ulmart against the background of growing losses. Kostygin was in favor of the company's forced growth to maintain market share by investing in infrastructure and new products (mainly through loans). Vasinkevich was in favor of optimizing the business in its current form and breaking even.

One of the co-founders Fedorinov leaves the company

In August 2016, it became known that one of the founders of the company, Sergei Fedorinov, left the post of CEO, transferring control to several top managers of the company. It was announced that Fedorinov intends to focus on new business projects not related to the Ulmart business.

Fedorinov did not specify in which area he now intends to apply his competencies:

I have always considered myself a leader with the potential of a startup, which I was able to fully realize in the context of the original Ulmart strategy. I accepted the offer to implement my ideas in the framework of new large-scale business projects and am leaving the post of CEO of the company.

Yulmart announced that it is looking for a candidate for the post of general director. Temporarily, the powers were distributed among the top managers of the company: the solution of issues in the field of financial activities was entrusted to the financial director of the company Galina Nesterova, the management of the commercial unit is distributed between the commercial director of Ulmart Oleg Pchelnikov, director of strategic marketing Alexandra Savina and director of corporate product and sales Dmitry Dmitriev. Operational management issues are dealt with by Development Director Vladimir Shonurov.

2017 IPO Exit Plan

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ulmart Dmitry Kostygin during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) said that the company plans to enter the IPO in 2017. He clarified that Ulmart plans to place 20% of the shares. At the same time, the New York, London and Hong Kong exchanges are considered as sites for placement.

Earlier in March 2015, it was reported that Ulmart would enter an IPO in 2016, placing 25% of the shares. Then it was also said that the company plans to raise $1.5 billion.

2015

Ulmart prepares for 2016 IPO

Russian Internet retailer Ulmart intends to raise about $1.5 billion as part of an IPO and plans to choose an exchange for placement by the end of summer 2015. Ulmart is ready to sell up to 25% of the company on IPO in 2016. This forecast is based on a preliminary estimate of the Internet retailer by financial conglomerates JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley - $5-6 billion. The funds raised will be invested in the construction of modern fulfillment centers in the European part of Russia. The delegation of top management "Ulmart" held negotiations with two main stock exchanges of the United States: NASDAQ and NYSE, as well as with representatives of the Moscow Stock Exchange. In the near future, similar meetings will take place with the London (LSE) and Hong Kong (HKEx) stock exchanges.

Plan to turn into an aggregator like Alibaba and Amazon

Russian online giant Ulmart will try to repeat the success of Alibaba and Amazon. The retailer will sell goods from other stores on its site for a commission. ​Rossysky online store Ulmart will test the possibility of working in the marketplace format, that is, it will turn into an aggregator platform that sells goods from other stores. Co-owner and [1]chairman of the board of directors of the company Dmitry Kostygin told^[10] about this. The first to enter the Ulmart site will be the retailer's sister companies: the Riv Ghosh perfume and cosmetic network, the online shoe retailer Obuv.com, the Rainbow Smile Drogerie network, and the RozTech lingerie group (Wild Orchid, Bustier networks). Kostygin is a co-owner of all the listed companies.

The format involves the online retailer providing its online marketplace and in some cases logistics capacity to third-party sellers, charging a fee for each transaction.

"In Russia, there is a good Internet industry, its search engine Yandex, the largest bulletin board Avito, the Mail.ru mail service, but there are no two important components: a really large online retailer - nevertheless, Ulmart has not yet grown to the level of Chinese or Indian stores. And there is no major player working in the marketplace format, "Kostygin explains

Placement of goods on the Ulmart site for partners will be free, the online seller will charge a commission for processing, courier delivery or use of the distribution center. Kostygin does not disclose the size of the Ulmart commission.

According to Data Insight co-founder Fedor Virin, depending on the services provided by the site, it charges partners from 2-3% to 25% from sales. "The commission is decent, and the costs for us are small, because the whole system has been built," Kostygin explains the benefits of such work for Ulmart.

In the future, he expects that revenue in the form of a commission from sales in the marketplace format on Ulmart will amount to at least a third of the company's total revenue. In 2014, the revenue of the online retailer, which Kostygin controls together with his long-time partner August Meyer, amounted to $1.1 billion. The forecast for 2015 is $1.3 billion.

2014

Purchase of a stake in Dream Industries Group of Companies

In May 2014, when Ulmart became the owner of a large stake in Dream Industries Group of Companies, which creates and develops the Zvooq music service and the Bookmate online library.

The volume of investments amounted to $6.5 million. Together with Dream Industries, the online retailer will start working with virtual goods (digital goods). The deal should also help strengthen the position of Ulmart a leading company in the field of Internet commerce.

As a result of two simultaneous transactions, Ulmart received a significant stake in the Dream Industries (DI) group of companies, which has many years of experience in the development of online content services. For $6.5 million in DI investments, the retailer acquired a minority stake in the Internet holding. Ulmart received the second part of its share in exchange for its shares from the Koshigi fund of the famous Russian businessman Dmitry Kostygin, who had previously invested in DI. As a result, Koshigi completely withdrew from DI, and Ulmart became the owner of the package, the cost of which ranges from $35 million to $60 million, depending on the valuation model.

Launch of Ulmart Travel

On June 23, 2014, it became known that Ulmart was launching a new line of business - Ulmart Travel. At the first stage, a set of services for travelers will include searching, booking and buying air tickets. In the future, other related services will be connected to it.

Ulmart partner was the company Sindbad.ru. It takes over the technical support of the services, including integration with global distribution systems and direct contracts with air carriers. The partnership is carried out in a "seamless format," when in all processes related to the purchase and post-sale service, the client interacts only with Ulmart. Contact centers of companies operate synchronously in 24/7 mode. At the time of launch, you can pay for flights with a bank card, while it is possible to pay up to 50% of the cost with XXL bonuses Ulmarts. Payment in cash at the fulfillment centers (cybermarkets) and points of issue of the Ulmart Outpost network, as well as through electronic payment systems, will be launched within a few months. In addition, it is planned to introduce the possibility of 100% payment of a XXL-bonus ticket.

Sergey Fedorinov, General Director of Ulmart:

"We are happy to launch this new service for us' Ulmart Travel '. We are confident that the integration of the travel service into the electronic showcase will www.ulmart.ru create a player with a loyal customer base unprecedented for the e-travel market. Today we have more than ten million registered buyers. In the future, we expect to connect to our universal platform the purchase of railway tickets, hotel reservations, and the purchase of package tours. Our goal is to create a personalized and most convenient service for travelers. Already, Ulmart offers the goods necessary for travel in the package with the ticket. "

Rashid Velemeev, director of the Sindbad.ru:

"Partnership with the leading Internet company Runet is a very important and interesting project for Sindbad.ru. We are confident that it will be effective. In the market of Internet sales of air tickets, a culture of loyalty is almost not developed. The buyer's choice is formed only by the price. This trend can be reversed by a player with an already developed loyal audience: Ulmart has 70% of the total number of regular buyers. In turn, almost twenty years of experience of our company and impeccable reputation of the service will provide not only quality, but also the most relevant and profitable offers in the field of air transportation for Ulmart customers. "

NoLimit Electronics Distributor Purchase

October 1, 2014. Ulmart has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Satellite Company LLC, which is represented on the market by the NoLimit Electronics distribution network. The transaction was closed on October 1, 2014 and was carried out by exchanging shares of companies. NLE is a leader in the distribution market for satellite TV and telecommunications equipment. The purchase of a new asset is part of a plan to create an universal multi-platform Ulmart.

As a result of the deal, both companies will maintain their organizational structure, the business of NoLimit Electronics will be strengthened by integrating into the logistics infrastructure of the Internet retailer. Ulmart, in turn, will receive additional expertise in the field of satellite equipment and expand the range of services in this direction.

Ulmart acquisition of a new asset is the second of ten points in the company's strategy to create a unique e-commerce multi-platform for the Russian market - an ecosystem that includes an electronic showcase built on the basis of its own powerful logistics infrastructure, and, in addition, a wide range of related services. The purchase of NoLimit Electronics should contribute to Ulmart long-term plans for working with digital goods, including the possibility of creating content delivery channels. One of the goals of the company's strategic development is to become a leading provider of its own content.

"NoLimit Electronics is interesting Ulmart as a very promising asset. The company has a well-built business model and is one of the leaders in the satellite equipment market. We are not embarrassed that we are buying not a retailer, but a distributor, our logistics model will allow NLE to develop more dynamically, and we will be able to take advantage of the distributor's opportunities to promote the company in the satellite equipment segment, "said Ulmart CEO Sergei Fedorinov

"Together with Ulmart, we will be able to maintain a leading position in the B2B and B2C markets for digital TV equipment, as well as related products. In addition, the company is actively working on diversifying the assortment, mastering new segments, integration will significantly strengthen the position of NoLimit Electronics in new areas, "said Natalya Bogushevskaya, CEO of NoLimit Electronics.

NoLimit Electronics has representative offices throughout Russia, including in Western and Eastern Siberia, supplies equipment to the country's leading retailers, including federal players, and also cooperates with more than eight thousand installation organizations. The company's own retail network has 52 warehouse stores and seven distribution warehouses in 49 cities of Russia, sales to end consumers are also carried out through an electronic showcase www.n-l-e.ru.

"The long-term experience of NoLimit Electronics and the high qualifications of employees will allow Ulmart to gain unique knowledge in the field of working with installation organizations that directly interact with end consumers and provide recommendations on the purchase of new goods necessary in everyday life or their business," said Natalya Bogushevskaya, CEO of NoLimit Electronics.

2013: Sales volume 39.7 billion rubles

The company's sales volume is 39.7 billion rubles. (including VAT 18%), which is an increase of 61.4% ($1021 million (excluding VAT 18%)) compared to 2012. In 2013, the number of cyber markets reached 30, and the points of issue and order "Ulmart Outpost" worked almost 240.

The company's range exceeded 55,000 SKUs in 2013. Further development of the logistics infrastructure will allow in the short term to increase the number of items of goods to 100,000 SKU. The electronic showcase "Ulmart" registers about 750 thousand unique visits per day, which, with a conversion of 4.5%, ensures stable profit formation. More than 10 million active registered users participate in the company's loyalty programs. In the sales structure of Ulmart for 2013, the main share - about 50% - fell on computer equipment. In second place with a share of 26% is household appliances. The largest growth dynamics was shown by new categories for the Internet retailer - auto goods, children's goods and household goods (DIY).

2012: Sales volume 24 billion rubles (+ 79 %)

In 2012, Ulmart 's sales amounted to 24 billion rubles (including VAT), which is 79% more than a year earlier. At the same time, according to RBC, the growth of the online segment of the electronics and household appliances market amounted to 15%, and the total market for non-food products - 26% *.

The largest increase was shown by the commodity categories "small household appliances" and "large household appliances." They rose 240% and 200%, respectively. In third place is the category "audio and video," the turnover of which increased by 110%.

Over the year, www.ulmart.ru website traffic doubled to more than 80 million unique visits.

In 2012, Ulmart opened 17 new cyber markets in five regions of the Russian Federation. This year, new representative offices have opened in Kazan, Tambov and in the territories of central warehouses in the Moscow and Leningrad regions.

2008: Fedorinov and Nikitin start a company

Sergei Fedorinov founded Ulmart with Alexei Nikitin in 2008 and then took over as CEO of the company.

Notes