Wildberries & Russ Try to Sell Russian Goods to China: Good Luck With That!
In a move that screams 'state-mandated pivot,' Wildberries and Russ are testing a B2B export scheme to China. It is not a marketplace; it is just a desperate attempt to stuff local goods into the world's most crowded factory floor.
The strategy, unveiled by Alexey Minaev , involves Wildberries acting as a middleman. Instead of setting up a storefront for Chinese shoppers, the company is buying products directly from Russian suppliers and dumping them into the B2B machinery of Chinese factories and retail chains.
The company claims that entrepreneurs only need to handle basic domestic paperwork, while local Chinese certification—a logistical nightmare—is left to the mysterious 'Chinese side.' This is a classic wholesale model, not the consumer-facing shopping experience usually associated with the brand.
The initiative stems from a pointed 'request' from the state to increase exports, as the previous business model relied heavily on flooding the market with cheap Chinese imports. Wildberries is targeting 'products with national identity' and daily necessities, despite admitting that China is essentially a saturated, hyper-competitive fortress that focuses on selling its own goods to the world rather than importing foreign ones.
Trying to sell 'national identity' to the country that manufactures 90% of the world's trinkets is a bold strategy. Whether this is a genuine trade pivot or just a corporate effort to look busy under government pressure remains the multi-billion dollar question.
Source: Russian Business
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