Nowadays, it has become very popular to make purchases on the Internet. Every now and then, various sites appear, designed to make life easier for people and allowing you to purchase the right thing by pressing a couple of buttons. One of these sites is Tatyana Bakalchuk's Wildberries. How did she come up with this idea and how was her life before?
Short biography of Tatyana Bakalchuk
Tatiana doesn't like to talk about herself. Little is known about her. She was born in the seventy-fifth year, on the sixteenth of October. Belongs to those who can be called "Russian Koreans" - by origin Tatyana Bakalchuk (pictured below) is Korean, but she was born, grew up and continues to live in Russia.
After graduating from school, she entered the Social and Humanitarian Institute of the capital, successfully completed her studies. By education, she is an English teacher. Before starting the business, she was additionally engaged in tutoring. Happy in marriage, Tatyana Bakalchuk's husband Vladislav, a radiophysicist by profession, also works with his wife. Three grow up in the familykids.
Tipping point
For the first time the founder of "Wildberry" Tatyana Bakalchuk became a mother four years after the beginning of the new century. She went on maternity leave. Incomes in the family decreased, and expenses, on the contrary, even increased. At one time, Tatyana tried to earn extra money as a tutor, but soon realized that this was impossible with a tiny child in her arms: her daughter often cried, demanded attention to herself, Tatyana's students were nervous, could not concentrate. It was then that the girl realized that something had to change. The first thing that came to her mind was to start her own online business.
Idea and title
Having made this fateful decision, it remains only to decide on the idea of the business itself - what exactly to do? Here, Tatiana didn’t think for a long time either - being a young girl with a child in her arms, always in business and with minimal free time, she knew for herself how difficult it is to find a watch for shopping. In addition, she, like many other women, was always annoyed by the attention of consultants who strenuously offered their help. But with all this, it is rare for a girl to deny herself the pleasure of buying a new thing! That is why Tatyana Vladimirovna Bakalchuk decided: she will sell clothes.
All acquaintances were against such an initiative. They said that this was a big risk for both the seller and the buyer - after all, clothes had to be tried on, no one would buy a pig in a poke. But Tatyana's husband Vladislav supported her - and later Tatyana admitted that everything worked out exactlydue to the fact that he was by her side from the very beginning.
The Bakalchuk couple decided to call their store Wildberries (literally translated from English as “wild berries” or “wild berries”). This name immediately came to Tatyana's mind and was dictated by the desire to wean women from buying clothes in black, gloomy tones.
Getting Started
The financial possibilities of a young family at that time were extremely limited, so the original idea of purchasing clothes from foreign distributors failed miserably: they wanted an advance payment, and the Bakalchuks could not afford it. It was then that Tatyana remembered the rather popular catalogs of German clothing Otto and Quelle - they were sold in our country exclusively through agents who worked with an advance payment and took a commission of fifteen percent. Tatyana and Vladislav made a tricky move: they reduced the remuneration by five percent and refused to take prepayments from clients. It took some time to develop the site and place an advertising banner on the Internet. According to the spouses, they themselves did not expect instant responses. But a miracle happened: on the first day they received several orders.
And then…
And then everything started spinning by itself. Orders came in one after another. At first, Tatyana herself went for parcels. The whole apartment of the Bakalchuks was filled with boxes - but gradually the understanding came: it was necessary to expand. A year after the start, the couple registered Wildberries LLC, rented a small room and hired the first staff: couriers, operators andprogrammers.
In 2006, Tatyana Bakalchuk decided to try direct cooperation with foreign manufacturers, abandoning catalogs. For photographs, they filmed their own female employees, but the quality of the images left much to be desired, which caused dissatisfaction among buyers. Tatyana took into account the mistakes - this is how Wildberry got its own photo studio and professional equipment.
Tatyana and Vladislav immediately decided that customers outside of Moscow should also have an affordable opportunity to purchase goods on their website. It was for this purpose that they established a single delivery cost, regardless of the distance of the region - it amounted to three hundred rubles. After a while, shipping generally became free for most areas - which, of course, affected the growth of buyers. "Wildberry" by Tatyana Bakalchuk became more and more successful, as they say, "got on his feet" stronger every day. This was partly due to the marketing ideas of the spouses, partly due to the rather small competition in the market (compared to today).
Feature of Tatyana Bakalchuk's Wildberries store
In addition to the above, from the very beginning, Wildberry had one feature that helped to attract clientele in many ways. It is about the possibility of trying on clothes. Tatyana was the first to offer such a service to her customers. Remembering the warnings of her friends who claimed about the "pig in a poke", she decided that customers have the right to try on the ordered items for free - and return them in thatin case something does not meet expectations.
At first, it was possible to try on clothes only at home - when the courier delivered them. But it was not always convenient (besides, they often ordered parcels to the office), and then the Bakalchuks opened the first self-delivery centers, in which they set up fitting rooms. This service created a sensation. The number of clients has increased, but the number of failures, respectively, is also the same: it was about half of the total number. To all remarks that it was unprofitable, Bakalchuk answered (and continues to answer now) that it is impossible to do without such a service.
Promotion
The financial crisis that happened at this time led to the ruin of many companies. But he only played into the hands of Tatyana and Vladislav: it was at this time that their company made the first direct deal with the manufacturer. At the well-known company Adidas, the demand for products then fell sharply, warehouses were filled with shoes. Tatyana bought more than three thousand pairs from them - and sold everything in a couple of years. It was also during the crisis that Tatyana Bakalchuk's company was enriched by several new employees - there were layoffs, people were left without work, and Tatyana and Vladislav were intensively expanding their staff.
Then "Wildberry" settled in a new place - they have a new office in the suburbs. Tatyana and Vladislav quickly understood the idea of most of their competitors: they cooperated with foreign suppliers. The Bakalchuks, on the other hand, began to work with Russian small-scale intermediaries, with whom it was much easier to negotiate thanwith foreigners. Thus, Wildberries had a product that was not available on any other site in the country. Eight years after its launch, the website of Tatyana Bakalchuk's store became the most visited in Russia - it overtook even the then sales leader, the Ozon store.
Regions
As mentioned above, in many ways the target audience of "Wildberry" is the regions. The leaders of the company have done (and are doing) everything in order to attract as many customers from the regions as possible. Tatyana notes that she herself traveled to provincial cities and was convinced that her project is very popular. Even in remote Vladivostok, seemingly bordering on China, women willingly buy clothes through Tatyana and Vladislav's store.
Besides the Russian regions, Wildberry has also entered the market of our neighbors: Tatyana and Vladislav work in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. And this is far from the limit of their plans and possibilities.
Numbers
If we talk about the statistics, they are certainly impressive. So, five years ago, about twelve million people visited the site of Tatyana Bakalchuk every month, making about three hundred and fifty thousand orders. To date, the number of visitors per month has increased to seventeen million, and the number of purchases remains in the region of eighteen thousand daily. Other numbers are no less interesting:
- The company has more than three thousand employees.
- Two years ago, the company's income was about thirty billion rubles.
- Last year Wildberrycame out on top in online sales in our country: they amounted to more than forty-five billion rubles.
- The company has more than six hundred pickup points equipped with fitting rooms.
- Forty percent of orders are picked up by customers on their own, one percent is delivered by the Russian Post, everything else is delivered by couriers.
- The number of sales in Moscow is approximately thirty percent of the total.
- The store has more than eight hundred thousand different models of goods from five thousand different brands.
- At the beginning of this year, Tatyana Bakalchuk's company ranked fourth in the list of the most expensive companies on the Russian Internet.
- The average check of a store fluctuates between two and a half - three thousand rubles.
Present
According to the results of last year, Tatyana Bakalchuk entered the top three richest and most successful women in our country. To come to such a phenomenal success from an ordinary English teacher, according to the woman herself, she was allowed to make several right decisions on time. So, in connection with the change in the financial capabilities of buyers, things of various price categories have recently appeared in the store - you can buy a blouse for a thousand rubles, or you can, say, three hundred. In addition, the company has expanded its product range: now Wildberry sells not only clothes and shoes, but also books, household goods, appliances, and so on. Such universal sites are very popular in Europe, gradually this trend comes toto our country. In addition, of course, the very first decisions - on the organization of free fitting and free delivery to various regions - made a great contribution to the development of the company.
At the same time, Tatyana Bakalchuk notes that due to customer abuse, they "cover up" some services - for example, the possibility of an indefinite return of goods. Gradually reducing, now it was brought to a three-week period, and the number of returns immediately decreased. Tatyana does not hide the fact that the company's profit is quite high, but she does not want to name the exact amount. Interestingly, the woman refused the offer to buy out the company by foreign entrepreneurs.
Distinguishing Wildberries from other companies
If at the beginning of the 2000s there were almost no such online stores in our country, now they are more than enough. In order for buyers to come to your site, you need to stand out. The founder of Wildberry Tatyana Bakalchuk (pictured above) is, in general, good at it.
The first difference between her company and others is that, as mentioned above, they set different price points for different capabilities of their customers. Another is a smart approach to spending money: Wildberry does not spend money on what their competitors do (for example, on outdoor advertising). The team of the company is also competently selected - mainly specialists who have “grown up” within its walls, who are true professionals in their field. There are no walls in the office, all employees are in one large room, which contributes to faster interaction andwork.
Another undeniable difference between Wildberry and other companies is the lack of a board of directors. Tatyana Bakalchuk emphasizes that her store's work style is democratic, which is also confirmed by a small number of heads of various departments. Thanks to this, the system of work is quite simple. Employees regularly monitor the number of visits and orders on the site (there are special buttons for this), and if it is less than a day or a week ago, they immediately come up with various promotions and discounts - this increases consumer interest. In addition, Wildberry has absolutely transparent relations with suppliers - the company's partners have access to all sales analytics.
Work and office location
Wildberry's office is located in the suburbs of Moscow, not far from the Moscow Ring Road - only twenty kilometers away. More than four hundred people work there, most of whom have been with the company almost from the day it was founded. There are many newcomers, but a huge number of them do not stay in the company for a long time - it's all about irregular working hours and a rather tight schedule: each employee must be in his place for at least eight hours, otherwise part of his salary will be removed from him. Also, some employees work on weekends: a special schedule has been drawn up for this.
At the entrance to the office there is a fingerprint scanner that does not allow outsiders to enter the premises. Negotiations with partners are taking place here, and I must say that their flow is quite high.
Interesting facts
- Tatyana Vladimirovna Bakalchuk tries to avoid communication with the press: she has given only one interview throughout the existence of her business.
- Two years ago was a nominee for the RBC award.
- The main principle of Tatiana's work is to work so that today is more successful than yesterday, and tomorrow is better than today.
- The main factor of his success is trust in instinct, understanding of customer requirements, the ability to make responsible decisions and take risks.
- Tatiana and Vladislav are quite private people: they don't get to know most of their competitors.
Tatyana Bakalchuk is a living example of how you can, starting from scratch, grow from an ordinary person into a successful entrepreneur, included in the most famous ratings. The main thing is to believe in yourself and not be afraid.
