Wildberries, Russia’s top online retailer, has become a target of strikes by Ukraine. The company, often referred to as ‘Russia’s Amazon’, has been attacked at four of its warehouses over the last week in a widening campaign of drone strikes.
Impact on Russian Economy
The attacks threaten serious losses for businesses that sell through Wildberries and potential disruption to customers who use it to buy various products. Wildberries and its rival Ozon sell goods and services worth the equivalent of 8.5% of Russia’s gross domestic product and provide jobs for 4 million people.
The companies are central to the Kremlin’s plans to reinvigorate growth in a stagnating, war-focused economy. President Vladimir Putin’s top economic advisor, Maxim Oreshkin, has been personally tasked with overseeing the sector.
Wildberries’ Rise to Prominence
Wildberries was founded in 2004 by Tatyana Kim and her husband Vladislav Bakalchuk. The company has grown from humble origins as a family business run out of an apartment near Moscow into Russia’s largest online retailer. Kim, a mother of seven, has become an icon for many aspiring businesswomen in Russia.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
