The company is programmed at the DNA level to always look forward – to not only focus on the needs of individuals, society and the surrounding world, but to anticipate them in advance.

Today these needs go far beyond the scope of multi-category online retail – we are responsible for the quality of life of millions of customers and tens of thousands of partners across the country. Our wish is for people in all corners of Russia to gain access to the best quality of goods, and to equip their spaces and their lives the way they want and deserve.

We want promising businesses to be able to sell their products and provide quality services to consumers throughout the country, regardless of where they originated. We want people who are working towards our common goal to have first-class working conditions, as well as great opportunities for professional growth and development. These are all fundamental principles of our sustainable development strategy, and our future.

In order for all of this important work to be carried out efficiently and smoothly, we, the management, set the most stringent requirements for ourselves. While remaining a private company, Ozon operates in accordance with high standards of corporate governance and adheres to a policy of responsibility and openness.

We are building our business in a stakeholder economy, with a full understanding that sustainable development can be achieved only by taking into account the interests of all engaged parties and choosing to prioritize long-term goals. Ozon is not only a leader in Russian online retail, growing at multiple times the rate of the overall market, but a responsible member of the global community. I am certain that an even longer and more exciting story is ahead of us. And I am convinced that Ozon's contribution to the common goals of sustainable development will continue to grow.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, online retailers have become the go-to destinations for Russian shoppers looking to purchase everyday items while limiting their trips outside of the house.

To ensure the health and safety of key stakeholders during this time, Ozon has adopted a range of policies to support its employees, customers, and the small and medium-sized businesses that sell their products on our platform.

1. Protecting our employees

Our top priority is to safeguard the health of our thousands of employees who continue to work during the pandemic. Ozon has introduced a wide range of policies across its fulfilment centres, warehouses, pickup points and courier services in order to ensure that we keep our employees safe while meeting the rise in customer demand.

Fufilment and sorting centres

We provided antiseptics and personal hygiene products to all employees and regularly disinfect all surfaces in common areas as well as the surfaces of frequently-used workplace equipment. In addition, we check the temperature of all employees using thermal imaging cameras and request that they see a doctor at the first sign of illness.

Delivery pick-up points

We have increased disinfection procedures at Ozon's delivery pick-up points, as well as suspending the use of fitting rooms and implementing a policy of pre-paid only orders to minimise employee contact with cash and personal cards.

Couriers

To keep our couriers safe, we have intensified morning pre-trip inspections before couriers begin their routes and regularly disinfect courier vehicles. Couriers use antiseptics, gloves, and masks when interacting with customers, and payments have been made contactless in order to limit the spread of infection.

2. Looking out for our customers

Ozon has introduced a contactless payment option and scaled up its contactless delivery services in order to ensure the safety of our customers. Since the start of the pandemic, contactless door deliveries grew to account for 80% of our overall courier deliveries.

We also developed a data-based price monitoring system to prevent price gauging by sellers on our marketplace who may seek to profit from the pandemic. In addition to our regular 24/7 monitoring and price analysis, Ozon has adopted measures to clear the site of unreasonably high prices, identify categories where speculation has taken hold, and ban sellers who repeatedly attempt to raise prices on basic goods.

3. Supporting SMEs

We are not only concerned about the welfare of our customers and employees, but the thousands of partners who sell their goods on our platform and help to keep it running.

As offline retail took a hit during the pandemic, we launched our E-commerce Online School to support entrepreneurs seeking to launch their sales online through the Ozon marketplace. The platform offers webinars by industry experts and current sellers on the Ozon marketplace that help small and medium-sized businesses navigate the Russian e-commerce market.

Ozon has also provided job opportunities for individuals working in hard-hit sectors of the economy. Since the start of the pandemic, Ozon has created more than 1,000 new jobs in central Russia at our warehouses and logistics hubs, as well as through our partnerships on employee sharing with Russian enterprises that have been affected by the coronavirus. We have additionally partnered with Yandex.Taxi and Gett drivers to deliver Ozon orders to customers.