Residents of these regions can now order a wide range of goods with delivery within an hour. Depending on the city, the number of SKUs in the respective dark store ranges from 12,000 to 22,000. The service’s assortment also includes products under the Ozon Express brand.
“Ozon Express continues its active regional expansion: after launching in Tver, where Ozon is already a backbone enterprise in the region, our express delivery service is now available in the two largest cities in the south of Russia. The number of Ozon Express dark stores is growing rapidly; by the end of the year, we plan to launch the service in several more regions. We are confident that the availability of our express delivery service will take regional online shopping to a qualitatively new level,” said Elena Shulgina, head of Ozon Express.
Ozon Express is searching for local food suppliers in each region where it operates. For example, one company that supplies dairy products sold under the Ozon brand is Prodvizhenie, in the city of Staritsa, in the Tver region. In Rostov-on-Don, the service collaborates with the Arktika trading company, a regional producer of dairy products, and with the Rostov Processed Cheese Plant. The company’s baked goods and confectionery assortment include products made by the Rostov-based Khlebprom as well as Ayutinsky Khleb, located in the city of Shakhty. To entice regional farmers to sell their produce online, Ozon has launched an educational program in cooperation the Ministry of Agriculture.
“It’s extremely important for us to deliver fresh, high-quality produce to residents. That’s why we’re going to expand our product range in regions outside Moscow and St. Petersburg in the near future by adding produce from local farmers. This will support local production and provide entrepreneurs with a modern new sales channel,” said Ms. Shulgina.