The joint company Wildberries and Russ LLC "RVB" announced the launch of its own gas station network at the marketplace's logistics centers. Currently, only the company's drivers can use the gas stations, but soon they may also serve partner delivery services, such as those delivering orders to Wildberries pickup points, according to a statement from RVB's press service. In the future, the company may expand the network and open gas stations to all motorists.

Full text of Sergey Tereshkin's comment:

The key reason for Wildberries' interest in fuel sales is the guaranteed demand in this segment. Due to high inflation, customers are less willing to purchase durable goods, making gasoline and diesel, de facto, essential goods (at least for car owners).

The profitability of this segment depends on whether Wildberries can purchase fuel on the exchange, where prices are significantly lower than in wholesale. Additionally, in Russia, unlike many European countries, excise duties are paid by oil refineries, not gas stations, which also benefits fuel retail.

Overall, the company is desperately looking for new opportunities to increase the profitability of its core business. This is rational behavior, but a real improvement in the situation is unlikely to occur until inflation returns to the Central Bank's target (4%).


Translated using ChatGPT.


Source:  https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/articles/2024/11/08/1073688-wildberries-postavit-azs-v-svoih-logis.