Biography and facts

Founder and owner of Russia’s largest online store Wildberries, with more than 2.6 million products in its assortment. In August 2019 Wildberries opened its 5,000th order pickup point in the town of Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk region with a population of about 12,000 people. Tatiana Bakalchuk herself in early 2021 became the owner of a small bank “Standard-Credit” (№348 according to assets in the Interfax rating at the end of 2020, about 700 million rubles). According to Kommersant newspaper, the bank is planned to be used for creating card loyalty programs, including gift cards, and settlements with suppliers of goods represented in Wildberries.

Bakalchuk started the business while on her first maternity leave. She traded clothes according to Otto and Quelle catalogs, and in 2004, with the help of her husband Vladislav, she created the online shopping website Wildberries.

Figure Up to 844 billion rubles (about twice as much) the turnover of Wildberries in 2021. Clothing, footwear and accessories accounted for about 40% of sales.

Volatility Over the past year Bakalchuk’s fortune has decreased sixfold. And in December 2021 the American Forbes called her a leader in growth dynamics among all the billionaires of the world – the growth was more than 1000%.

Detail Before starting her business, Bakalchuk taught English and worked part-time as a tutor.

New markets Wildberries operates in Russia and 19 other countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and others. The audience of buyers in 2021 reached 113 million people per month. In January 2021 the company announced the launch of sales in Germany. The website de.wildberries.eu and mobile applications run in German, English and Russian. At the end of May, the online retailer launched a new fintech service for customers – now they can buy goods on credit and installments.

Pandemic During the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Wildberries employed 15,000 people: 7,500 in distribution centers, 5,500 in the courier service, 1,500 in order-delivery points and about 500 people in other parts of the company. At the end of May, Wildberries employed 53,000 permanent and temporary employees.