VkusVill taps Chinese market, tests Tmall sales

MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) - VkusVill has launched sales of its products on the Chinese Tmall marketplace on a pilot basis, the Russia health food retailer said.

The company is so far offering only a small range of four taster boxes containing samples of 35 products. Asked whether the range on offer would increase, the company told Interfax that the development of the export project to China would depend on the demand of buyers and demand indicators in the country.

"We chose the cross-border model to enter the market: the order is sent from a bonded warehouse in China and the last mile of delivery takes the usual 1-3 days for a Chinese buyer. Consumers clearly associate this format with imported products and it allows the range of exports to be expanded due to simplified certification," Andrey Tuzhikov, VkusVill specialist for exports to China, is quoted as saying in the release.

VkusVill founder Andrei Krivenko spoke about plans to tap the Chinese market several years ago.

VkusVill is one of the fastest growing retailers in Russia. Its revenue rose 42.3% to 162.19 billion rubles last year. The company positions itself as a chain of health food stores. It includes more than 1,300 stores in 67 Russian cities and more than 120 dark stores, as well as a mobile app and an online store.