Ozon opening a logistics center in Kyrgyzstan, will open local marketplace by year-end

BISHKEK. April 14 (Interfax) - Russian marketplace Ozon will launch a logistics center in the suburbs of Bishkek in May, Ozon CIS COO Alexei Sapon said at the COM.E ON practical conference in Bishkek on Friday.

Kyrgyz entrepreneurs will receive assistance starting up online sales at the center, he said. Photos of goods from local sellers will be displayed on the online storefront, and their goods labeled and packaged in orders.

The complex will be located on the territory of Dordoi, the country's largest wholesale market, which occupies an area of 100 hectares. Its turnover is estimated at $4 billion a year.

"In 2023, the Ozon.kg marketplace will open and be registered directly in Kyrgyzstan. Accordingly, all purchase and sale prices will be in som, there will be simple taxation and it will all be made convenient for domestic sellers. If we are now working on flows from Kyrgyzstan to Russia, then our task is to ensure that all the goods for sale on our site are available to all residents of the republic. In the near future, along with the opening of a local site, we plan to strengthen and broaden the infrastructure here by opening distribution points, both our own, and with partners," Sapon said.

The first Ozon order acceptance points will open in the capital by the end of April, and by the end of the year, there will be 15 throughout the country.

"In June, the Ozon support center for entrepreneurs will start operating in Bishkek. Its experts will assist with everything to do with the organization of sales: they will tell you how to prepare the necessary documents for registration and sales, register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC, draw up product cards and organize their online promotion. "Now, local entrepreneurs handle sales and registration from the Ozon.ru site. In the near future, buyers from Kazakhstan and Belarus will also be available to them," Sapon said.

As reported, in December 2022, Ozon opened a representative office in Bishkek, and at the beginning of this year launched a sorting center to reduce delivery time for goods from local entrepreneurs to Russian customers. Kyrgyzstan has become the third country in the CIS where the company is localizing business based on its own logistics infrastructure. Since 2021, Ozon has been developing its business in Belarus and Kazakhstan.