Wikimart

WIKIMART is a Russian on-line shopping center that sells both its own goods produced under the WIKIMART trademark and goods of other brands. Wikimart was created in 2008 by Kamil Kurmakaev and Maxim Faldin, who were studying in the United States at that time. Initially, Wikimart was conceived as a platform for selling goods from other online stores (aggregator), but then the company also began to sell goods on its own.

History

2024: The court recovered 5.65 billion rubles from the founder of Wikimart for the debts of the online retailer

In April 2024, the City Arbitration Court Moscow recovered Maxima Faldin 5.65 billion from the co-founder and former CEO of Wikimart rubles in the order of subsidiary liability for the debts of the bankrupt online retailer. The requirement to attract Faldin to the subsidy was put forward by the bankruptcy trustee of Vikimart Andrei Ryzhov.

Ryzhov asked the court to bring to subsidiary responsibility Andrei Klenin, who became the general director of Wikimart after Faldin. The Moscow Arbitration Court upheld these demands, but the appeal sided with Klenin.

Unsplash

According to the bankruptcy trustee, Maxim Faldin and Andrei Klenin did not file for bankruptcy when Wikimart showed signs of insolvency against the background of debts back in 2014. Thus, the level of long-term and current obligations in 2014 reached 1.2 billion rubles with revenue of 756 million rubles.

But the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal ruled that the manager did not establish the exact date of objective bankruptcy, in connection with which it is impossible to determine "whether the debtor had new obligations after the expected date and, if any, which ones." By this decision, Andrei Klenin was not brought to subsidiary liability for Wikimart's debts. Ryzhov tried to challenge this decision in the cassation instance, but did not achieve a result. Thus, subsidiary liability fell entirely on Faldin.

In 2022, the Moscow Arbitration Court released Faldin as part of the bankruptcy procedure from further fulfillment of creditors' claims, completing the sale of his property. Ilya Ananyin filed an application for insolvency of the co-founder of the online retailer, who declared unfulfilled obligations in the amount of more than 1 million rubles.^[1]

2020

Ex-head of Wikimart got off with a suspended sentence for embezzlement of 124 million rubles

On May 7, 2020, it became known about the verdict that the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow issued against Andrei Klenin. The former general director of the Internet retailer Wikimart was found guilty of complicity in embezzlement (part 5 of article 33 and part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) 124 million rubles and received 3.5 years probation. Read more here.

The court declared bankrupt the founder of Wikimart

February 26, 2020 it became known about the bankruptcy of Maxim Faldin. More than 30 creditors demanded about 200 million rubles from the co-founder of the closed online retailer Wikimart. Read more here.

2016

Wikimart died: Moscow office locked, employees pull equipment

Created in 2008 and representing about 2 million goods, the Internet retailer Wikimart closed its Moscow headquarters. This was announced in December by the Roem.ru resource with reference to office employees. Official version: delay in paying for the rent of the premises.

Wikimart workers told the publication that the office is now sealed, and part of the team is working remotely. Employees also complained about wage arrears, including those who had previously quit.

"Many have not been paid since the beginning of November and have not yet been paid a penny after their dismissal," explained one of the employees, whose name is not given. "All employees took equipment from the office at the expense of ZP. It was horror: huge queues, excitement, and everyone took at least some laptop or TV that was on the balance sheet in the office, "he says. A Wikimart source adds that many of his colleagues "have already turned to government agencies for help." Wikimart, which is essentially an online platform for online trading, combines about 8 thousand online stores with its own^[2].

Wikimart co-founder: The company was "stolen" and it "died"

Co-founder of online retailer Wikimart Maxim Faldin announced in December 2016 on his Facebook page that the company will soon be declared bankrupt.

died, he categorically claims. - "Wikimart," which Kamil and I (Karmakaev, - approx. CNews) founded in the summer of 2008, ceased to exist. There is also a legal entity (will be declared bankrupt in February), it has a CEO (if not a fool, will quit before the end of the year). But the company is gone. "

The company was "stolen"

"Last week, after almost two years off, I spent a day and a half in the company," Faldin continues. - It so happened that the majority shareholders abandoned her, and of the minority I was one in Russia. During this day and a half, I was convinced that the company had no assets left that can be saved and competencies that can be preserved. 20 months of my absence allowed "professional" top managers to destroy the company with the money of "rich" oligarchs. During these 20 months, they spent (in rubles) twice as much (!) As Camille and I in the entire history of the company, from the moment of foundation in 2008 to August 2014. And everything was pro.. ano and plundered. But for the most part pro.. ano (spelling and punctuation of the original - approx. CNews)^[3]

Wikimart CEO Andrei Klenin denies Faldmin's claims that the company was stolen. As for bankruptcy, then, according to this, a court decision is necessary, and it is not.

2015

In 2015, Finprombank began to have problems, after which Wikimart also faced non-payments. The financial recovery of Finprombank was taken up by the Alliance group of entrepreneur Musa Bazhaev. The same group has gained control of Wikimart since the end of last year. Recently, a large number of lawsuits have been filed against Wikimart from various suppliers. One of them, Lux-Trade, demands that Wikimart be declared bankrupt through the Moscow Arbitration Court.

2014: US investment fund Tiger Global Managment (TGM) sells most of Wikimart's online store stake to Russian shareholders, reducing the stake to a minority

The controlling stake in Wikimart in the fall of 2014 was bought by the shareholders of Finprombank, one of whom is the chairman of the board of directors Anatoly Goncharov, who previously owned a minority stake in the online store. The names of the other shareholders involved in the transaction, as well as the amount of the repurchase, were not disclosed.

Co-founder and CEO of the online supermarket Maxim Faldin explained to a ComNews reporter that if TGM previously had more than 50% of its capital, now it remains less than 10%. However, this does not mean that the investor sold 40%. Part of the transaction is investments in the company ($40 million), which are made by Russian shareholders, so the shares of the rest are proportionally diluted. Faldin did not disclose the exact indicators.

According to the Roem.ru, Goncharov, in addition to the minority share of the Internet supermarket, owned the share of the retailer Терминал.ру, which Wikimart announced in September. In the new transaction, Goncharov's share exceeds the total share of Finprombank's shareholders, the newspaper claims.

According to Anatoly Vakulenko, an analyst at Finam, the TGM fund focuses on projects that have a chance at an IPO in the five-year term and invests quite large sums. "When the fund was invested, there were no arguments against a quick and successful IPO of a major Russian project in the field of e-commerce. Back in the spring, the company's leaders believed that after 2016 the company would be ready for an IPO, "Vakulenko recalls. In the current situation, due to the fall in shares of hi-tech companies and country ratings, a strategist is preferable, who can extract synergy from several projects in the field of e-commerce, the expert believes.

As Faldin said, the purpose of the deal is to create an e-commerce leader in Russia, which will require a change in the company's strategy. If now Wikimart is an "online showcase," where sellers have the opportunity to put up their goods for sale, then in the future it is planned to focus on opening offline stores. This should help "Терминал.ру," which has about 40 points of sale. On its basis, it is planned to create "terminal service stores," where the buyer can receive part of the goods immediately, and part - the next day. As a result, the turnover of the combined company in 2015 should grow to $500 million.

Vakulenko assesses the Russian e-commerce market as mature and very competitive. Stores will have a long competition for the ability to meet the user's needs faster and better. "Such a market is preferred by strategic investors who already own such assets, but for venture investors it has less attractiveness," the analyst said.

The representative of Finam positively assesses the prospects for the deal. "Of course, the strategic investor will now provide the company with more sustainable development than it would provide a portfolio one that constantly reflects on the optimal output," the expert concluded.

2013

In 2013, the company's turnover amounted to $130 million, in 2015 - $250 million.

2009

In 2009, a controlling stake in the retailer was acquired by Tiger Global. In just a few years, the company has attracted private investment totaling about $30 million.

Notes