KazanExpress

KazanExpress is a marketplace from Tatarstan, founded in 2017, offering free delivery of goods per day. By March 2021, according to the company's own data, about 5 thousand suppliers were registered on the platform. The monthly volume of orders is about 1 million parcels. The company manages a network of its own points of issue of orders in 33 Russian cities, mainly in the Volga Federal District and the Ural Federal District, and a logistics center for 45 thousand square meters. m.

History

2024: Rebranding begins

Magnit has developed the concept and visual design of the Magnit Market brand, a marketplace that the company is developing on the basis of the acquired online platform KazanExpress. Also, the retailer starts rebranding KazanExpress, following which the site, application, points of issue of orders (PVZ) and other elements of the marketplace infrastructure will function in the same style under the Magnit Market brand. Magnit announced this on April 15, 2024.

source = Magnet

The identity of the brand is based on the idea of ​ ​ movement and speed, which reflects one of the main advantages of Magnit Market: all products presented on the marketplace can be ordered with free delivery the next day and picked up in Magnit's store, combining them with grocery shopping and saving time. The Magnet Market logo uses a rich coral color, which refers to the branded red color of Magnit, but at the same time distinguishes the marketplace brand from offline brands. The same task is performed by the font. Additional colors - yellow, white and graphite - together with coral create a recognizable combination that allows you to differentiate the brand from competitors. The visual design of the brand also uses signal icons that reflect the idea of ​ ​ a navigator, which leads buyers to profitable and convenient purchases.

The concept and visual design of the Magnit Market brand was developed in conjunction with the LINII branding agency.

The process of rebranding KazanExpress will include several stages. Elements of the corporate style "Magnet Market" will appear in the design of the site and application. Then the updated Magnit Market website will be launched, and it will also be possible to make an order on the marketplace in the Magnit application. All new PVZs will be opened in accordance with the changed design. Brand identity elements will also be used on the uniform of PVZ personnel, in the design of internal services and the fleet of the marketplace. Until the end of 2024, Magnit Market will also launch a large-scale marketing campaign to promote the new brand among buyers and sellers.

{{quote 'author = Konstantin Izmailov said CEO of the Magnit Market marketplace. | Rebranding is an important stage in the history of KazanExpress and Magnit itself. The marketplace significantly expands the range of purchasing tasks that Magnit's customers can solve within the company's unified infrastructure, and opens up new prospects for sellers, because the retailer's capabilities make it possible to scale the marketplace business in an unprecedented short time. All this is also reflected in the concept of the Magnet Market brand. Its identity is consistent with the style of the "big" "Magnet," but differs from it enough to broadcast to our customers and partners the thought: "Magnet Market" is the reliability and low prices of "Magnet" at high speed and with new capabilities,}}

2023

Magnit bought KazanExpress

On October 19, 2023, Magnit announced the purchase of the KazanExpress marketplace, on the basis of which the retailer launches its own similar platform called Magnit Market.

According to the press service of Magnit, the company entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of KazanExpress LLC from AliExpress Russia, businessman Sergei Eremeev and KazanExpress founders Linar Khusnullin and Kevin Hand. The closure of the transaction depends on coordination with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia. The deal is expected to be self-funded.

Magnit announced the purchase of the KazanExpress marketplace

The entire infrastructure of the KazanExpress marketplace was included in the perimeter of the transaction: a technology platform, points of issue of orders (PVZ), warehouses, a fleet of Marketplaces, as well as intellectual property. In addition, Magnit will receive a developed pool of 12 thousand Russian Marketplace sellers.

In the contour of the Magnit group of companies, KazanExpress will change its name and will develop under the Magnit Market brand.

The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction. The general director of INFOLine-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov estimated it at 10 billion rubles. This is much less than Magnit could spend creating a marketplace from scratch, the expert noted in a conversation with RBC. Despite the low market share, due to integration with Magnit, the marketplace will acquire significant growth potential and in terms of the number of points of issue of orders will be able to immediately become the third player in the market (the leaders are Wildberries and Ozon), Burmistrov added.

By mid-October 2023, the KazanExpress network of points of issue of orders (PVZ) has more than 500 points in 120 cities. It is planned that as part of the development of the Magnit Market marketplace, the geography and number of points of issue will be multiplied due to the opening of PVZ in Magnit stores of all formats.^[1]

Third Party Market Window Closure

On March 30, 2023, KazanExpress announced that it was closing a marketing showcase for third-party companies.

The company is withdrawing from cooperation with PSB Market and other services.

KazanExpress planned a partnership with large sources of traffic using the white lable model, a showcase that other companies under their own brand can use. At the end of March 2023, the marketplace decided to close this direction and return the focus to investments only in its own brand, as well as withdraw from logistics cooperation with PSB Market, which involved the utilization of part of the capacities of KazanExpress.

Cooperation on the white label system makes it possible to diversify the business without investing in additional operating activities. Banks invest in customer cashback and bonus rubles most of the marketing budget: to send these points to marketplaces under their own brand and recoup the costs logically and profitably. Therefore, many banks, including from the top 30 banks in Russia, considered such a partnership.

In turn, for KazanExpress, the development of display marketing and logistics partnerships with ecosystems, banks and other holders of client flows meant an additional source of traffic and revenue. At the same time, the project with Promsvyazbank was an option for loading the capacities of the warehouse that opened in Sviyazhsk - cooperation would allow delivering orders from PSB Market to the cities where KE operates in the Volga region, Central Russia and the Urals.

More detailed calculations as the project was evaluated showed that such cooperation would make logistics more expensive and more difficult, and this could affect the quality of customer service and the fulfillment of the main promise - delivery always in one day.

Message about the construction of an industrial park with a village for hundreds of millions of rubles

The KazanExpress marketplace will build an industrial park near Kazan with a village for hundreds of millions of rubles. This was announced on March 20, 2023 by the general director of the company Linar Khusnullin. According to him, the investment council of Tatarstan approved this project.

There is an idea - housing, warehouses, production, benefits - to combine everything in one place and invite residents there who are sellers at the sites. The first stage is to make an industrial park for them, "he said (quoted by Interfax).

KazanExpress will build an industrial park with a village near Kazan

The project is aimed at Marketplaces partners with revenues from 500 thousand to 5 million rubles, of which there are about 120 thousand in Russia by March 2023, the head of KazanExpress said. The first building of the industrial park worth 350 million rubles will be built during 2023, subsequent buildings will be built as they are loaded. A preliminary residential development project is scheduled to be submitted in July 2023.

Initially, the city is designed for 20 residents and will consist of warehouses. The second stage will begin to build houses and all the necessary infrastructure: shops, schools, kindergartens. According to Khusnullin, a housing industrial park can also attract sellers from remote regions with its proximity to the capital of Tatarstan "as one of the most attractive cities in Russia."

Today, sellers of marketplaces have a need for their own warehouses and packaging rooms. Accordingly, they can move to Tatarstan with their proceeds. To do this, they need to provide conditions - this is an industrial park, storage facilities, and, of course, housing. Today we considered such a town of e-commerce at the investment council, - said the head of the Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan Talia Minullina.[2]

2021

AliExpress Russia became the owner of the controlling share of KazanExpress

At the end of October 2021, information appeared that AliExpress Russia became the owner of the controlling share of the KazanExpress marketplace. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

According to data in the SPARK-Interfax system, AliExpress Russia has owned 50.1% of Kazanexpress LLC through its 100% subsidiary, Aggregator-S Online LLC, since October 18. Kommersant notes that Aggregator-S Online LLC entered the capital of KazanExpress in July 2021 with a share of 25% and then gradually increased it.

AliExpress Russia became the owner of the controlling share of KazanExpress

The funds received from the transaction with AliExpress Russia intend to spend in KazanExpress on the further development of the company, strengthening logistics (including the opening of a new fulfillment in Kazan), expanding the geography of work and increasing the range. In addition, together with KazanExpress in the coming year, AliExpress plans to develop the logistics of the last mile, the companies said at the end of October 2021.

The new investments will help us, among other things, scale this business model to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia and the southern regions, "said Linar Khusnullin, co-founder and CEO of KazanExpress.

By the end of October 2021, the KazanExpress marketplace operates in 91 cities of Russia and has 400 points of issue. The service delivers more than 1.8 million orders every month. The turnover in September 2021 amounted to about 850 million rubles, the number of users reached 2.5 million people per month. In September, users received 50 thousand orders per day, it is planned that by December this figure will double.

KazanExpress expects that thanks to the investment of AliExpress Russia, the company will be able to "become the leader in the number of orders among Russian sites" by 2024. KazanExpress plans to go to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Siberia and the southern regions of Russia.^[3]

Attracting investments from AliExpress Russia

On March 10, 2021, it became known about AliExpress Russia investing in the KazanExpress marketplace. Under the terms of the agreement, the investor receives 30% in the Kazan project.

The volume of investments is not called. General Director and co-owner of KazanExpress Linar Khusnullin told Kommersant that we are talking about "billions of rubles." AliExpress confirmed the investment and noted that they look at the market and invest in an active startup.

The general director of Infoline Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, in a conversation with the publication, noted that for AliExpress Russia, this deal is a format for a local partnership.

Before implementing a large-scale expansion on its own, the company wants to see how this can be done through a local player, "Burmistrov explained.

AliExpress Russia invested in Kazan marketplace KazanExpress with delivery per day

Data Insight partner Boris Ovchinnikov, in a conversation with Kommersant, called KazanExpress one of the most interesting players in the market, which is developing without the support of giants like Sberbank or Yandex. The emphasis on the delivery of inexpensive goods the next day gave a rapid increase in the flow of orders, he said.

According to Ovchinnikov, the strategy in which regional projects in the field of e-commerce scale up in other cities and so become a federal player turned out to be effective. In the future, AliExpress may receive a controlling stake in the project, he added.^[4]

Notes