Forward leasing

As of January 2019, the main activity is rental and rental of other personal and household items.

History

2024: Service closure

Leasing and subscription service for electronics and household appliances Forward has suspended the issuance of devices. As Shopper's writes with reference to the manager of one of the partner companies, Forward Leasing sent out a notice of closure from October 15, 2024. According to the interlocutor of the publication, the service faced difficulties after large suppliers left Russia, which led to a high percentage of non-refunds under leasing agreements. At the same time, top managers of the company have already launched a similar new project, the publication says.

2023: Softline bought Forward Leasing

On June 14, 2023, it became known that Softline was buying Forward Leasing. Financial and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As a source in the electronics market told Kommersant, Softline decided that it was better to buy a ready-made solution in the field of subscriptions to electronics (a ransom with a low monthly payment and the ability to exchange the device for a new one until the entire amount is repaid) with a built system, and not create a project from scratch.

Softline buys Forward Leasing

Gadget rental and leasing services have become popular, including against the backdrop of a fall in the smartphone market as a whole. In 2022, their sales in the Russian Federation fell by 35%, to 529 billion rubles. At the beginning of 2023, the trend remained, the newspaper writes, citing expert data.

According to the publication, by June 2023, as a result, more and more retailers are testing new sales formats: last spring Svyaznoy, together with Arenter, launched a rental service for equipment, including office and gaming laptops, smartphones, TVs. The combined retail network MegaFon and Yota noted to Kommersant that subscription to smartphones is growing by 15-20% year-on-year.

However, "a company such as Softline will not acquire a business for leasing gadgets in the absence of synergy with other areas of business," said FG Finam analyst Leonid Delitsyn.

Mechanics may be effective in the corporate sector, for example, an integrator will be able to sign up for laptops, the expert suggested.

In his opinion, in the future, Softline may start selling laptops on its own operating system, as well as adapting it for smartphones. In this case, the cost of electronics will increase, and leasing can become an alternative sales mechanic, saying Leonid^[1]

2022: PPF sells 49.5% of the company's shares to investors led by Ivan Tyryshkin

In May 2022, the Czech PPF which owns the Home Credit credit institution, sold 49.5% of the shares in Home Credit Insurance and the microcredit company Buy Not Dig Russia in a group of investors led by. Ivan Tyryshkin Tyryshkin also bought the company from one of the structures of the Home Credit group. "Forward leasing

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