Tatiana Bakalchuk
Founder of “Wildberries”
No one proves that there is no “perfect” time to start a business, or that if you work hard enough, anything is possible, more than the 43-year old Russian, Tatiana Bakalchuk.
Tatiana was an English Teacher, and her story started when she got a simple idea during her maternity leave after the birth of her daughter. The idea was to make more money through reselling German fashion catalogues and clothes that she used to buy herself from Germany. She would then store them in her apartment and sell them for a somewhat higher price than she bought them, and she would make any deliveries to customers herself.
She, along with her husband, officially founded “Wildberries”, one of Russia’s largest online stores, in 2004 when the concept of e-shopping and online stores was still not that well-known in Russia, as it only started to gain popularity in the Russian Market and the number of online stores started to grow rapidly in 2008.
Today, Wildberries provides millions of their customers with clothing from more than 5000 of the world’s most popular fashion brands for men, women, and children, cosmetics, and perfumes, as well as books and electronics; in addition to employing more than 6,000 workers and employees.
Moreover, the company has expanded its operations to not only reach Russia, but to serve customers in Belarus and Kazakhstan as well.
One of the many reasons behind the success of “Wildberries”, besides its owner’s dedication and hard work, is its ability to understand and relate to its customers, as it is one of the few online stores that offers its customers a free trial of the products received.
Other advantages that gave Wildberries a competitive edge against its competitors are: their fast and free delivery of products ordered, great offers and discounts to loyal customers, as well as user-friendly online platforms which facilitates their customers’ online shopping experience whether through mobiles or desktops.
Tatiana is one of the wealthiest women in Russia, as ranked by Forbes business magazine in 2014, with an estimated net worth of 380 million dollars.
An inspiring example of how a woman can successfully juggle a growing business and being a mother, Tatiana Bakalchuk is definitely a role model in hard work and time management, and is a living proof that with dedication, perseverance, and a good plan, anything is possible.
Written by Yasmine Mokhtar
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