Tag: online retailer

  • Unicorns in Russia | List of Startups Soon to be Unicorns in Russia

    We are quite aware of the economical status of Russia. Russia’s economy is known as the 11th largest economy in the world. Its economy is contributed majorly by the service sector at 62.3% of the 1.63 trillion dollars, along with the 63% of total employees for the labour force. On the other hand, Russia is widely supported by Europe as being its largest trading partner.

    When it comes to the startup culture, Russia has the support of some major factors like sea routes access, location, access to natural resources and European markets. However, a large number of Russian startups are established in Moscow & St. Petersburg.

    In the modern era of the millennials, Russia works as the nerve centre of the whole Eurasian startup culture. Russia has more than 3.8K tech startups among which 9 are public estate. And, in that case, we have brought you the Russian startups which are listed among the unicorns of the World along with the top potential “Soonicorn” startups in Russia. Go through the article and you will find the exclusive Russian tech startups with a substantial valuation status. Let’s get started!

    Unicorns in Russia

    Soonicorns in Russia

    Conclusion
    FAQs

    Top Startups in Russia

    Unicorns in Russia

    Russia has two very prominent unicorns, Avito.ru and Wildberries. These two companies exceed their valuation of billion dollars. Russia is quite famous for its economy and startup ecosystem. And, these companies have made their way to the list of unicorns with a valuation of over $1 billion. These are briefly discussed below.

    Avito

    Founder- Jonas Nordlander and Filip Engelbert
    Founded Year- 2007
    Funding- USD 1.3 Billion

    Avito - Unicorn in Russia
    Avito – Unicorn in Russia

    The well-established Russian company, Avito.ru is a classified advertisement website. It’s known as the most prominent and established classified website in Russia and the second largest in the world. Avito.ru was founded in 2007 by Jonas Nordlander and Filip Engelbert. The company works through the services of E-commerce and web communication.

    Moreover, the website of Avito has further categories of general goods for sale, personals, jobs, real estate, services and cars for sale.

    Avito.ru made its biggest achievement when in 2019, the daily visitors of the website reached 10.3 million. The services and valuation of Avito.ru mark the company in the eyes of Russian Forbes. Later with the ranking as third, it came out in the list of most expensive companies of the Runet. The estimated valuation of Avito.ru is around $4.9 billion.

    Wildberries

    Founder- Tatyana Bakalchuk
    Founded Year- 2004
    Funding-  

    Wildberries - Unicorn in Russia
    Wildberries – Unicorn in Russia

    Wildberries is known to be Russia’s largest online retailer. The company was established by Tatyana Bakalchuk in 2004. It was headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Tatyana was formerly a teacher but, on her maternity leave, she developed this website. And now, the company has crossed the revenue of over $3 billion. Wildberries is the leading Russian E-Commerce market at a valuation of $30bn.

    Wildberries employs over 48,000 people with the work establishment in 7 countries. On average, Wildberries process 750,000 orders per day online with the wide categories of 37,000 brands of clothing, cosmetics, children products, shoes, food, books, jewellery, electronics and many others.

    When the pandemic came in 2020, the company progressed with a sudden increase in sales volume and reached up to $6 billion. Wildberries have experienced great development in the past years. And now, it is moving towards its development in countries such as the United States. Besides, the company has now started online sales in Russia through instalments or on credit.


    List of Unicorns Startups in India | Top Unicorns in India
    India has over 60 unicorn startups including Paytm, Byju’s, Zerodha & more. Here’s an exhaustive list of Indian Unicorns Startups as of 2021.


    Soonicorns in Russia

    Well, as we went through the unicorns of Russia it would be absolutely interesting to know the potential startups which are on their way to get the unicorn status, or the Soonicorns. Therefore, we have discussed the potential startups of Russia as well. Let’s get started with the Soonicorn startups.

    Waves Platform

    Founder- Sasha Ivanov
    Founded Year- 2016
    Funding- USD 240 million

    Waves Platform - Soon to be Unicorn in Russia
    Waves Platform – Soon to be Unicorn in Russia

    Waves Platform is a very well known blockchain-based startup that provides the service of digital application advancement infrastructure for public institutions as well as enterprises. The company is headquartered in Moscow, Russia.

    Moreover, Waves Platform has many potential investors such as Dolfin, Blockchain R&I, CV VC and many more.

    Indriver

    Founder- Arsen Tomsky
    Founded Year- 2012
    Funding- USD 15 million

    Indriver - Soon to be Unicorn in Russia
    Indriver – Soon to be Unicorn in Russia

    Indriver is a company offering a ride-hailing service through a digital application for the demand of intra-city taxi rides. The application offers plenty of passenger based services such as setting their price, negotiating and more. The company was founded in the year 2012 and is established in Yakutsk, Russia.

    Indriver is expanded to many cities across South Africa, CIS, America and LATAM.


    What Makes A Unicorn Startup & How To Build a Unicorn Startup
    A unicorn in the Business world indicates a privately-owned startup that has a valuation of $1 billion. But what makes a startup into a unicorn? Know Unicorn Startup Characteristics


    Biglion

    Founder- Vladimir Vinogradov and Oleg Savtsov
    Founded Year- 2010
    Funding- USD 25 million

    Biglion - Soon to be Unicorn in Russia
    Biglion – Soon to be Unicorn in Russia

    The digital platform for the wide range of category O2O deals. Biglion is a well-known company that offers many deals of services such as fashion products, beauty and health, fitness clubs, restaurants, and many more. Biglion was founded in 2010 in Moscow, Russia. It has its potential investors as RTP Global and Tiger Global Management.

    MANEL

    Founder- Manel Guillen I Sola
    Founded Year- 2010
    Funding- USD 12 million

    MANEL - Soon to be Unicorn in Russia
    MANEL – Soon to be Unicorn in Russia

    MANEL is a prominent company that develops high technological equipment for the development of a porous nanostructural non-metal non-organic coating that occurred from the microarc oxidation. It has taken it to a next level of quality as well as advancement. MANEL was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Tomsk, Russia. Its significant fundings comes from Rusnano and Tomsk State University.


    Top 15 Richest People of Russia: A Comprehensive Study
    Moscow ranks third when it comes to housing the richest people in the world. So, here’s an insight into the top 15 richest Russians and their journey!


    Ostrovok

    Founder- Serge Faguet
    Founded Year- 2011
    Funding- USD 51 million

    Ostrovok - Soon to be Unicorn in Russia
    Ostrovok – Soon to be Unicorn in Russia

    The well-established hotel booking platform, Ostrovok.ru offers great services through brief research, review and convenience along with further travel details. Ostrovok.ru is known as the OTA for hotel booking. Its digital application suits Android and iOS very well. Its prominent investing comes from Fritz Demopoulos, Niklas Zennstrom and Vaizra Capital.


    MakeMyTrip Success Story – Founder | Business Model | Revenue
    MakeMyTrip has established its dominance in the Indian travel-tech segment. Read on to know more about MakeMyTrip’s success story, business model, funding.


    Conclusion

    There is a vibrant and wealthy startup ecosystem in Russia. Although there are only two or three startups mentioned in the unicorns list, there are dozens of startups that have a high valuation and a very fair chance of becoming unicorns soon. Alongside, many are counted as potential startups who can gain unicorn status one day. There are many powerful and prominent startups in Russia and these have many potential investors as well. Russia has a long way ahead, meanwhile, its startup culture is progressing with each passing year.

    FAQs

    What are the unicorns in Russia?

    Two unicorns has been identified in Russia. They are:

    • Avito
    • Wildberries

    Which are the most valued startups in Russia?

    Some of the potential startups on their way to get the unicorn status are:

    • Waves Platform
    • Indriver
    • Biglion
    • MANEL
    • Ostrovok

    Which is the largest company in Russia?

    Some of the largest companies (as per market capitalization) in Russia are:

    • Gazprom
    • Sberbank
    • Rosneft
    • Novatek
    • United Heavy Machinery
    • Lukoil
    • Nornivkel
    • Polyus
    • Surgutneftegas
    • Severstal

    Which city is the startup hub of Russia?

    Moscow is the startup hub of Russia. Most of the prominent startups are headquartered in Moscow, Russia.

  • Business Model of Zara: The Fast Fashion Retail Leader

    Zara is a Spanish fashion retailer with headquarters in Arteixo, Galicia. Apparel, jewelry, footwear, swimsuits, grooming, and fragrances are among the company’s products, which include fast fashion. It is the biggest business in the Inditex group, which is the largest garment retailer on the planet. Zara is one of the most popular retail clothing brands in the world, if not the most popular. It strives to foster a sustainable enthusiasm for fashion across a broad range of customers, distributed across many regions and different ages, with its stunning debut of the notion of “quick fashion” shopping since its founding in 1975 in Spain.

    Zara – History
    Zara – Products
    Zara – Business Model
    Conclusion
    FAQs

    About Zara Business Model

    Zara – History

    Amancio Ortega | Zara Founder
    Amancio Ortega | Zara Founder

    Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera launched Zara, the world’s most famous fashion retail firm, in 1975 in Spain with a capital of 30 Euros. They intended to call their store Zorba after the movie Zorba, but there was also a pub with that name on the same street. As a result, they chose Zara because having two Zobra within the same neighborhood would only create confusion. Zara used to sell low-cost knockoffs of famous, high-end apparel and style in the beginning.

    Rosalia Mera | Zara Founder
    Rosalia Mera | Zara Founder

    Zara’s strategy for fashion and operating model gained popularity with Spanish customers during the next eight years. As a result, nine additional outlets have opened in Spain’s major cities.

    Inditex was founded in 1985 as a trading corporation, laying the groundwork for a supply system responding fast to changing market trends. Ortega coined the term “instant fashion” to describe a revolutionary design, manufacturing, and distribution approach that could shorten lead times and respond to new styles more quickly. This was fueled by significant expenditures on computer technology and the use of organizations rather than solo artists for the essential “design” component.


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    Zara – Products

    • Men’s Clothing
    • Women’s Clothing
    • Children’s Clothing (Zara Kids)
    • Accessories

    Zara – Business Model

    Zara Logo
    Zara Logo

    Zara’s business strategy is precisely designed, effectively incorporating all of the aspects that leads to the improvement of this global undertaking. There really is no single commercial operation that is directly liable for this company’s success. Joint venture, growth strategy, efficient supply chain management, and other unconventional actions and ideas all contribute to the growth of this kind.

    The firm is known for its expertise in promptly providing fresh merchandise to stores. Zara uses a tight program in order to accomplish this. Supervisors buy goods twice per week at specified times, and fresh clothes come twice a week on schedule. Zara’s success is built on this ethic.

    Fast Fashion is one of Zara’s main concepts. The concept of a fast manner is comparable to that of FMCG (Fast-moving Consumer Goods). Fast fashion is typically employed to appeal to a younger and middle-aged demographic. This type of clothing does not go out of trend; rather, it runs out of stock. The quick fashion cycle is basic to comprehend. A young individual purchases a simple set of clothes that can be used 6-8 times before the material begins to fray. It causes the person to buy new clothes, which leads them back to that place, and the cycle repeats. The foregoing are some of the primary strategies of Zara:-

    1. Vertical Integration is the key
    Vertical integration is a value or supply chain control method in which a corporation owns or manages its manufacturers, resellers, or store outlets. Industry profits from vertical integration because it allows them to regulate operations, cut costs, and enhance efficiencies. Vertical integration, on the other hand, has drawbacks, such as the considerable financial expenditure necessary.

    Zara’s vertically integrated supply chain allows it to maintain direct oversight while also providing speed and flexibility to their clients. Zara employs cutting-edge techniques to ensure that they can quickly bring new concepts to market that are exactly what clients want, whenever they want it.

    2. Centralization
    Zara has a profound, consistent, and swift pace that revolves around quick shop delivery. Every Zara store places two orders per week on particular days. Carriers depart at precise times, and supplies reach at particular times in shops. When clothes arrive at their destination, they are already labelled and priced, making them ready to sell right away.

    Because of this well-established pattern, every employee in the production process – from design through sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and retail – is aware of the timing and how their actions affect other departments. This applies perfectly to Zara buyers, who exactly know when to go shopping for brand new clothes.

    Zara’s dependence on centralized order fulfilment allows businesses to run extremely efficient operations, from early strategy to execution to shops. Further illustration as to why continuous improvement and supply chain management are crucial to revenue and scalability is the business’s strategy.

    3. Inventory management
    Zara can supply more frequently and in limited volumes during the season because of the fast turnover from manufacturing plants adjacent to its marketing headquarters in Spain. If Zara’s swiftly created style in an effort to follow the current fashion fails to sell successfully, there is little harm done. Because the amount is low, there aren’t a lot of unsold copies to get rid of. And, since this failed experiment was short-lived, there may still be time to attempt another style, and then another.


    How did Zara Face its First Loss [Case Study]
    Zara’s supply chain management has helped Zara become one of the most profitable and recognized brands in the fashion industry. Read this article to know more about it.


    Conclusion

    Zara prides itself on remaining on top of the latest trends and radiating an upscale vibe, but its production process is the real show-stealer. These industry-leading procedures elevate it from a mere clothing store to a market leader in fast fashion executed well. Zara excels at guaranteeing that everything goes as planned, as it has more control over its production and business network than most of its competitors. Zara’s main strategy is to diversify through various vertical integrations in order to develop.

    FAQs

    Where does Zara get their clothes made?

    Zara manufactures its most fashionable items in Spain, Portugal and Turkey.

    Where is the biggest Zara store in the world?

    The biggest Zara store is in Madrid, Spain.

    What is Zara most famous for?

    It is most famous for its Fast Fashion.

    Who are the founders of Zara?

    Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera are the founders of Zara.

  • Top 16 Tools that every Amazon FBA Seller Needs in 2021

    E-commerce platforms have altered ways of doing business in a tremendous manner. They have rendered the impossible possible by making the market place accessible for all. Not just for customers but also for sellers.

    This also means an increase in competition. Gone are the days where you can go on with your business without any change. Today, you have to plan and bring in innovation in every step that you take or else you see your sales plummeting down. To ensure better sales, here are a few tools that every Amazon seller must have:

    Amazon Seller App
    AMZ Finder
    Facebook Advertising
    PPC Entourage
    Sellics
    Amazon FBA Calculator
    FBA Fox
    Kabbage
    Source Mogul
    Shipworks
    Refunds Manager
    Camelcamelcamel
    Amazon Sellers Lawyer
    Currencies Direct
    Profit Whales
    Helium 10
    FAQ

    Amazon Seller App

    Pricing – Free
    Review – 4.2

    Amazon Seller App
    Amazon Seller App

    This is a very basic app whose functions are way more than basic. They help you fix a retail price for your product. All you have to do is just scan and upload the picture of the product. The app suggests an apt selling price using various parameters. It is completely free and thus makes the process completely investment free. If you are planning to sell on Amazon here’s a complete guide to help you out.

    AMZ Finder

    Pricing – Prices vary from $49/month to $799/month
    Review – 4.3

    AMZ Finder Tool Website
    AMZ Finder Tool Website

    One cannot emphasise enough on the importance of reviews as far as firms like Amazon are concerned. A negative review can turn down many prospective customers apart from lowering product rank.

    This tool helps you improve your customer relations and product reviews in a variety of ways. Automatic emailing, requesting positive reviews, alerting at the sight of negative reviews are a few of them. The last one mentioned is all the more important since it helps you act faster and address the issue immediately.

    Facebook Advertising

    Pricing – Price depends on CPC
    Review – 4.3

    Long gone are the days when Facebook was just a social media platform. It has expanded to be a market place as well. Realising this potential, Facebook now allows sellers to advertise their products after choosing certain variables like location, target audience, budget etc.

    PPC Entourage

    Pricing – Price vary from $o / month per region to $200 / month per region
    Review – 4.3

    PPC Entourage Website
    PPC Entourage Website

    PPC Entourage is yet another advertising tool for Amazon sellers. It claims to kill competition by putting your Sponsored Amazon ads on auto-pilot. They significantly help in improving profit margins. They completely take care of the advertising part while you take care of the business.

    Sellics

    Pricing – Prices vary from $198/month to $599/month
    Review – 4.4

    Sellics Website
    Sellics Website

    It is yet another tool that you may want to use as a seller on Amazon. This tool tailor made for Amazon monitors many key areas of business like SEO, research, reviews, Pay-per-click, competitor management etc. It is a must add on if you aim at improving your business at an exponential rate. The app is suitable, not only for pros but also for newbies.

    Amazon FBA Calculator

    Pricing – Free
    Review – 4.4

    As the name suggests, this tool lets you view, calculate and realise sales and price ranks of the competitors. This is an added information which helps you assess where you stand amongst others. The different facilities available here can also be used to determine revenue, RoI, and Profit.

    FBA Fox

    Pricing – Prices vary from $30/month to $45/month
    Review – 4.5

    It is an amazing destination for those Amazon sellers looking for a wholesale distribution platform. They catalogue almost 5 lakh items and extends services upto delivering your product directly to the buyer.

    Kabbage

    Pricing – NA
    Review – 4.2

    Lack of operational capital is a big problem that most of the beginners face. Kabbage provides loans for such small and medium enterprises. They use data on merchant activity to understand details about business performances.

    Source Mogul

    Pricing – $67/month
    Review – 4.5

    Source Mogul Website
    Source Mogul Website

    This tool helps you to find the right product to sell. This being an important aspect of any seller it helps you in automating the process of searching. It gives you an option to customise your wholesale lists as well.

    Shipworks

    Pricing – Prices vary from $49/month to $799/month
    Review – 4.3

    Shipworks website
    Shipworks website

    As the names says it helps in optimising shipping of your orders. The orders will be directly downloaded from the website of the store. Apart from that, it also helps in procuring monthly reports, customer invoices etc.

    Refunds Manager

    Pricing – Prices vary from $690/Year to $1190/Year
    Review – 4.5

    Refunds Manager Website
    Refunds Manager Website

    It is a tool that helps you to get your money back from Amazon. This includes the refunds for damaged products, excessive commission fees and so on. By keeping track of the refunds initiated, this tool will help you monitor the over cash flow of the business with much less friction.

    Camelcamelcamel

    Pricing – Free
    Review – 4.3

    Camelcamelcamel Website
    Camelcamelcamel Website

    This tool is very popular among the Amazon sellers due to the service that it provides to them by monitoring the prices available on Amazon. It also sends you alerts if you feed in your requirements like a range of prices based on their availability. Camelizer is a browser add-on of the same tool which makes the job easier for the sellers. They let you see the price history with ease.

    Amazon Sellers Lawyer

    Pricing – You have to Contact the supplier for a quote
    Review – 4.4

    Business is never a cake walk. And doing business through Amazon is no different. Things like suspension can happen. The tool Amazon Sellers Lawyers deals with the legal side of doing business and helps you revert back the suspension or any other kind of legal punishments imposed by the app. It also helps you to go on to the listings back. This is a go to place in case of any legal hurdles.

    Currencies Direct

    Pricing – NA
    Review – 4.5

    If you are a seller who undertake transactions internationally, then this is a tool that you must use. It takes care of all money that comes through international marketplaces. And there is no need to worry about local bank accounts. Their clients can save 3% of the overall sales value when compared with other firms.

    Profit Whales

    Pricing – Prices vary from $69/month to $500/month (They also charge 2% to 3% monthly ad spend on some plans)
    Review – 5

    Profit Whales Website
    Profit Whales Website

    By using the potential of data science, Profit Whales automates pay-per-click nuances of Amazon for other brands and even third party sellers on Amazon. They do this through their completely automated custom-built algorithms. Hence it is safe to consider this tool as Amazon’s pay-per-click automation software

    Helium 10

    Pricing – Prices vary from $37 /month to $198/month
    Review – 4.5

    Helium10 Website
    Helium10 Website

    This website is extremely beneficial for sellers who are launching a new product. SEO is an unavoidable aspect as far as online businesses are concerned. This tool aids in boosting your sales by optimising keywords. It tracks and finds out the best keywords that can be used so that your products come in all related searches the customers do. These high volume keywords will help you outrun your competitors.

    Other tools that Amazon sellers can use

    • Salsify
    • Seller Repay
    • Codisto
    • Channergy
    • Billbee
    • AmazeOwl
    • Entriwise
    • SellerMobile
    • eComEngine
    • taxomate

    Conclusion

    There are a plethora of tools that you can use to improve your sales on Amazon. One thing that you need to keep in mind is that no tool can be used in all situations in the same manner.

    You need to constantly adapt and improvise on tools. It depends on how your business fares on the platform. In a way, it is a cycle which determines each other. The right use of tools will benefit your business, and the changes in business will demand a change in the usage of tools. So watch your business very closely and use the tools in the best way possible.

    FAQ

    Which is the best Amazon seller tool?

    Junglescout, Camelcamelcamel and AMZ finder are some of the top amazon seller tools you should consider.

    Is being an Amazon seller worth it?

    If you are serious about selling and growing your business on Amazon then selling on Amazon is quite profitable as it is one of the top ecommerce site.

    What tools do I need for Amazon FBA?

    Amazon Seller Central App, Amazon FBA calculator and Camelcamelcamel are some of the top tools you need for Amazon FBA.