Tatiana Bakalchuk is considered one of the most mysterious figures in domestic business. Her online store Wildberries has been around for over ten years. Bakalchuk's business is growing steadily, even despite the general deplorable situation in the domestic economy. Very little is known about the founder of the company: Tatiana does not seek publicity.
From the biography of Tatiana Bakalchuk
The future founder of the Wildberies online store was born on October 16, 1975 in the Moscow region. Tatiana Bakalchuk studied at the most ordinary school. Then she entered the capital's social and humanitarian institute. Diploma qualification - English teacher.
Like many teachers, in the 90s Tatyana did not have enough money to live on. Therefore, she sought to find a part-time job, gave private lessons. However, when in 2004 Tatyana had a daughter, there was no time for additional earnings. There was no money for a nanny either. Bakalchuk seriously thought about finding an opportunity to support her family.
After going through all the possible options, Tatiana opted for the Internet trade in accessories and clothing. The idea was to organize online sales of goods from popular German catalogs.
At the origins of the family business
The idea demanded a lot of effort. A year later, Tatyana and her husband Vladislav faced difficulties: they had to rent warehouse premises and hire personnel. At first, the couple used their apartment as a warehouse.
The small family business grew little by little and by 2005 had become the Wildberries company. After a year, there was no need to collaborate with popular brands. The spouses got the opportunity to go directly to small European manufacturers, whose product prices were more democratic.
Tatiana decided that it was necessary to make efforts to ensure that the goods in her trade network were not inferior to the “catalog” products. Bakalchuk organized a professional photo studio, hired models to demonstrate accessories and clothing items.
It also took a number of marketing moves. The solution was an extremely low price for the main line of goods and ensuring the return of things if the buyer was not satisfied with them.
Tatiana's trading strategy was based on a service unusual for its time: clients had the opportunity to try on clothes that they ordered via the Internet. For the first time on the market, this opportunity was provided precisely in Wildberries.
At the same time, a complication arose: the vast majority of the firm's clients were women. Therefore, trying on goods that were delivered to your home by male couriers was very inappropriate and inconvenient. Then Bakalchuk decided to organize a fitting within the sales office, at the so-called pick-up points.
These points looked more like small retail stores with comfortable fitting rooms. Here, customers could take a quick look at the selected clothes, try them on and without haste make an informed decision on the purchase of goods. Or refuse to purchase it. Practice has shown that about half of the company's customers prefer to use pick-up points. There are several hundreds of such points for "wild berries" - both in Russia and in neighboring countries.
Explosive growth of Tatyana Bakalchuk's business
In 2016, Tatiana Bakalchuk's company took a leading position in its field of activity. Ten years of sustainable growth of the company could not shake even the crisis moments in the Russian and global economy. To maintain such a pace, Tatyana and Vladislav have to constantly adjust the chosen business model. In essence, Bakalchuk's business has become a large-scale one-stop online store.
The range of products offered by the company is very wide:
- clothes;
- footwear;
- accessories;
- household products;
- books;
- electronics;
- sports equipment.
An important place in the updated trading strategy is occupied by a flexible system of bonuses and discounts, which can reach up to 17% of the order volume.
Tatiana Bakalchuk's business is primarily aimed at the regions. She herself traveled a lot to remote regions and provincial cities, after which she became convinced that her project was popular in the outback. Subdivisions of the Wildberries company successfully work not only in the Russian Federation, but in other countries. Among them:
- Belarus;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- Kazakhstan.
The number of sales in the capital of Russia is less than a third of the total volume of orders.
Business growth can be traced by traffic to the company's website. If a few years ago about five million potential customers came to the Internet portal per month, now this number has grown to 17 million. Tatiana's online store carries out up to 18 thousand orders daily.
The most conservative estimates show that Bakalchuk's business brings her about 30-40 billion rubles a year. The company employs about 3,000 employees.
Over time, many business solutions found by Tatyana began to be successfully used by competitors. For this reason, the company and its employees have to look for new moves all the time. One of the conditions for the successful development of an Internet project is maximum flexibility in the perception of innovations, the dynamization of all trade processes, the use of modern Internet technologies in promoting information about goods. The strategy of the company is built in such a way as to correspond to economic realities in any development of the market situation.
Personal life of Tatiana Bakalchuk
The Wildberries company is considered a family business, although it is Tatyana who runs this trading empire. Very little is known about her personal life. Bakalchuk is in no hurry to become a public person; it is difficult to find her revelations about family and business on the Internet. Bakalchuk does not even take part in those public events that are related to the sphere of her business interests - there is simply no time left for that.
It is known that her husband Vladislav is a radio physicist by education. The couple are raising three children. They try to share the responsibilities of business management: each has its own area of responsibility. Tatiana is engaged in building a line of products, organizing work in social networks, personnel management. And Vladislav has to keep accounting, control purchases, delivery of goods and marketing.
Tatyana Bakalchuk is one of the five richest women in Russia today. According to various estimates, her fortune is $ 400-420 million.
