Vkusvill enters the market of Kazakhstan

More and more Russian business follows the flow of mass emigration of citizens after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and mobilization. Thus, Vkusvill enters the market of Kazakhstan, one of the main destinations for the departure of Russians. The chain launched a wholesale ordering facility for its products in the country and has already attracted a number of partners from among local retailers. However, experts warn that development in the Kazakhstan market may be complicated by logistics and a weak level of brand awareness among local residents.

In May, Vkusvill registered the kz-vkusvill.ru domain, found Kommersant in the SPARK-Interfax database. The site contains a catalog of retailer’s goods for a wholesale order to Kazakhstan. Vkusville confirmed the launch of a new project. They explained that through the website the retailer is ready to accept applications from potential partners for the supply of its products to Kazakhstan.

The network says that they have also begun to cooperate with a number of local partners in Kazakhstan, supplies to which are carried out through the Brandpoint distributor. Basically, these are goods with a shelf life of more than 30 days. In particular, products from Vkusvill can already be found today at Q-Store gas stations, in cinemas of the Kinopark chain and on the Megapit marketplace. In the near future, the retailer’s products will appear in the stores of the Yubileiny and Green Bean grocery chains, the network specifies.

Vkusvill began to increase its presence in the post-Soviet space since last year. Then the retailer, together with the logistics company Boxberry, launched the wholesale delivery of its goods to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan for up to ten days.

Independent expert Irina Bolotova says that today many Russian retailers are considering opportunities to expand their business to neighboring countries in order to diversify their business. However, the expert warns, Kazakhstan’s retail market lags behind Russia’s by 12-15 years. According to Infoline, the retail trade turnover in Kazakhstan in 2022 amounted to $34.5 billion. For comparison, the turnover of only the two largest Russian chains X5 Group and Magnit, according to Infoline, over the past year amounted to $38.4 billion and $34 billion, respectively.

According to Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline-Analytics, Russians who moved to this country last year due to mobilization will be the main buyers of Vkusvill products in Kazakhstan. According to him, residents of large Russian cities left there – and these are the main buyers of Vkusvill.

Irina Bolotova notes that the niche for selling products for a healthy lifestyle, in which Vkusvill operates, remains free in Kazakhstan. But she considers relocators not the most stable audience, as many of them may decide to move again.

According to Mr. Burmistrov, in the future, Vkusvill will be able to attract a loyal audience among Kazakhstani consumers as well. However, this will take more time, since there are no plans to open chain stores in Kazakhstan yet, the expert clarifies.

In general, Ms. Bolotova calls the B2B segment difficult to develop abroad. Retailers need to consider the intricacies of local legislation, obtaining sales licenses, and also provide ways to sell unsold stock in the country. In addition, the expert draws attention to the difficulties in organizing logistics in Kazakhstan due to the large distances between major cities. This fact, according to Irina Bolotova, can also affect the breadth of the range of products supplied to the country.

Alina Savitskaya, Anatoly Kostyrev