Ozon scales up business in Belarus, expands logistics infrastructure

Ozon, a leading multi-category e-commerce platform, announces that it has registered an operating company in the Republic of Belarus called Ozon Rocket Bel LLC. The new structure is being created to scale up business in the country and primarily to expand Ozon’s logistics infrastructure.

In 2021, Ozon plans to open a distribution centre in Belarus to speed up the processing and delivery of parcels. In addition, the Company is planning an exponential increase in the number of Ozon pickup points, both in partnership with local logistics operators and through the creation of its own branded network of pickup points. To accomplish these goals, the Ozon team in Belarus has added Maxim Ganush and Sergei Chileko, managers with thorough knowledge of Belarusian e-commerce who previously worked for Lamoda and Europost.

Ozon has been selling goods to customers in Belarus for several years – relying on local delivery services in place of its own logistics infrastructure. With the appearance of its own logistics centre and the development of its last-mile service, the Company intends to reduce the time needed to deliver goods to Belarus, which currently takes five to seven days on average.

“Belarus is a strategically important region for Ozon. The Company has already developed a loyal customer base here, but we believe there is enormous potential to increase that base. With that in mind, we continue to consistently improve the experience of our Belarusian customers. They now have access to almost the entire range of products available in the marketplace, the Ozon Premium loyalty programme, as well as free delivery to partner pickup points and courier delivery, which will become even faster this year. We also intend to help Belarusian manufacturers sell their goods to Ozon’s Russian customers – and in Russia 85 million people have access to our delivery service”, says Stanislav Kondratyev, Director of Logistics and Customer Service at Ozon.

Almost all of Ozon’s product range is now available to residents of Belarus: that means more than 11 million products from everyday consumer goods to clothing, electronics and sporting equipment. To make shopping on Ozon more convenient, the platform has launched a shopfront in Belarusian roubles for local customers.

To help develop local business, there are also plans in place to create a special shopfront this year featuring products from Belarusian manufacturers. In addition, the platform will independently deliver them to Russian customers.


Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that reflect the current views of Ozon Holdings PLC (“we”, “our” or “us”, or the “Company”) about future events and financial performance. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations. However, it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors and circumstances that may cause Ozon’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from its expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including conditions in the U.S. capital markets, negative global economic conditions, potential negative developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, other negative developments in Ozon’s business or unfavorable legislative or regulatory developments. We caution you therefore against relying on these forward-looking statements, and we qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While Ozon may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Ozon disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause its views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Ozon’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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