Russia's electricity business rules are very different

Introduction: The U.S. "Fortune" online version of the article said today, although on the surface, Russia has a lot of e-commerce development elements, but the Amazon and other overseas companies in the country do not do, the local manufacturers are growing. This is mainly due to the country's unique business environment, as well as the long-term investment vision of local enterprises.

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Referring to Amazon, EBay (Weibo) and Google (Weibo), many people may take it for granted that Russia will warmly welcome these foreign internet giants. If so, why has Google won only 27% of its share after hard work, far less than the 61% of its local rivals Yandex? Why did Amazon just disappear in the country?

Russians don't dislike them. Russia has 53 million internet users, the first in Europe, the year-on-year growth rate reached the second Germany's 7 times times. Moreover, there is much room for growth in the country's internet population. In addition, Russia's personal disposable income and debt ratios are very healthy and people are keen on exotic products. On the face of it, this seems to suggest that the time for the country's E-commerce revolution is ripe.

This is not to say that Russian internet companies are doing nothing. In addition to Yandex, the Avito, which mimics Craigslist, is already well ahead of US rivals in the local market. While ebay gained some revenue through Mail.ru-backed Molotok, ozon.ru was labeled "Amazon of Russia". Even with local companies such as Mail.ru, such as Groupon, they still face fierce competition from Kupikupon, Biglion and Vigoda, and some have even generated tens of millions of of dollars in the first year. In Russia, where global hegemony does not seem to be working, it is no wonder that the country has been hailed as the last frontier in Europe's internet industry.

However, although Russia inevitably has some unique business models, but the repeated failure of Western big-name companies can not simply blame the cultural conflict, of course, not only because of hubris. The key problem, it may be said, is that these companies do not understand that relying solely on an expanding network of netizens and rising consumer spending is not enough to support the traditional online retailing business.

Although Moscow has become a modern western city, the number of billionaires in the world's largest, but outside the big cities, Russia still lacks the necessary infrastructure for E-commerce development-some places even completely do not know what e-commerce. For example, the Russian postal service is either too expensive or too low. Similarly, because of the high cost of bank transfers and the lack of reliable electronic payment methods, the vast majority of consumers usually choose to pay for online purchases with cash.

Still, despite all the thorny hurdles, some internet companies are thriving. Ozon.ru currently has more than 700,000 independent user visits per day, with sales exceeding 1 million dollars. This achievement was achieved because the company turned obstacles into opportunities. There is no reliable courier, ozon.ru to build their own logistics. The company's O-courier Express Company has now spread over 130 cities, with more than 2000 pick-up points. Similarly, while 80% of consumers still use cash to shop on Ozon.ru, the company has aggressively invested in the development of reliable electronic payment technologies. They used last year's $100 million trillion in funding to build reliable data centers and improve the Web interface.

Crucially, many of the growing Russian web companies have grown up with the country's Internet and online communities. In a sense, these successful companies are the real pioneers of the Russian internet industry, who are willing to invest and shape the country's online industry. This may be a higher risk and more effort, but it is worth it in a country with a population of 140 million, most of whom have not yet become netizens. (Si yuan)