KRASNODAR: Magnit PJSC, one of Russia’s leading retailers, opened a hybrid dark store operating in two formats – as a warehouse for picking online orders and as a brick-and-mortar store for customers. The pilot dark store is located in Moscow, a statement noted.
The hybrid facility has a total area of more than 600 sq. m. For the convenience of visitors, the store separates its customer journey from the delivery side of business – there are dedicated areas for online order packaging and pickup as well a selling space for offline shopping.
The dark store has a separate entrance for delivery agents, which enables them to pick up orders directly from the picking area without inconveniencing customers.
Customers can choose from a wider assortment compared to a traditional Magnit Convenience store – around 8,000 articles. There is also a range of around 700 unique items with a focus on fresh products, ready-to-eat items, as well as more premium goods across all categories. In the nearest future, fresh pastries will also be added.
The hybrid dark store is located in southwestern Moscow (in the Butovo district) and serves the express delivery mission (delivery within one hour). The facility processes orders made via Magnit’s own delivery service as well as via the Company’s partners – Delivery Club, Yandex.Eda and Sbermarket.
Ksenia Pushkarskaya, Director for E-Commerce Operations at Magnit, said, “We continue testing various operational models in e-grocery and seeking out synergies with our offline business. We see the hybrid dark store as a rather interesting format, which on the one hand allows creating a more attractive offering for Magnit’s traditional customers while on the other hand enabling us to potentially increase the effectiveness of our online channel. We intend to look at how the pilot will perform and do not rule out further scaling.”
As of today, Magnit’s e-commerce services incorporate over 4,490 brick-and-mortar stores and 20 dark stores in 64 regions and 301 localities, with 69% of the current revenue generated outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The largest and the fastest growing segment is express delivery, where orders are delivered within 60 minutes.