Interview: Evgeny Chernikov, General Manager, Yango Deli UK
RTIH gets the lowdown on Yango Deli, the rapid grocery delivery arm of Russian tech giant Yandex which recently launched in the UK.
RTIH: Tell us about Yango Deli.
EC: Yango Deli is an experienced ultrafast e-grocery operator.
We deliver groceries, such as hot coffee, fresh produce, frozen foods, cupboard staples, and other products from a range of over 2,500 SKUs to customers within around 15 mins.
We are starting our UK operations from four hyperlocal warehouses, or so-called dark stores, located in Bethnal Green, Battersea, Bermondsey and Acton.
The service was launched by NASDAQ-listed Yandex in Russia over two years ago and has since expanded to Israel and France, operating a network of more than 400 dark stores in total.
We were very excited to officially launch Yango Deli’s operations in London on 14th October.
RTIH: Why have you decided to launch in the UK?
EC: While we believe that this way of shopping will become commonplace across the globe, certain places in the UK, and London in particular, are perfectly tailored to the ultrafast grocery model.
Consumers here are already used to ordering groceries online – in fact, the city has one of the highest rates of online food orders per capita in the world. London also has a high population density, which is another positive for our business.
Ultrafast grocery delivery is an exciting, and indeed, competitive sector in London. While there are already several different players in this space, it is still very far from saturation point, and we see great demand for a wider assortment of high quality food.
We are pleased to be harnessing our sophisticated technology and tried and tested business model to serve customers in the UK.
RTIH: Are you planning to enter other markets in the near future? How about the US?
EC: Personally, I’m entirely focused on the UK market – an exciting place to provide our ultrafast service.
Yango Deli is also examining data points and testing a few essential elements of the model in other markets, and will plan the pace and the scale of its expansion based on its experiences there.
RTIH: What marks you out from the competition?
EC: We are not a startup.
As part of Yandex, a NASDAQ-listed technology company that builds intelligent products and services powered by machine learning, we benefit from a wealth of tech expertise and have top-notch tech talent at our disposal.
Our business model, including various operational and logistical aspects of our work, has also been honed over the past two years across different geographies at large scale.
We know what works and we continue to further adapt our processes to fit the needs of the UK market with the help of our self-learning algorithms.
Yandex has a proven ability to build comprehensive, scalable and profitable services. E-grocery is indeed a new, complex and multidimensional business model.
However, the basic principles, competences, essential resources and key success factors are applicable across the exceptional services already in operation on a large scale within our group.
RTIH: A number of companies are jostling for position in the rapid grocery delivery space. Is this sustainable or will we ultimately see a handful of players come to dominate the market?
EC: The Covid pandemic has helped to accelerate the formulation of new consumer habits, including greater need for on-demand services like rapid grocery delivery.
Of course, there was already demand for these types of services, but the pandemic has sped up the pace of digital adoption and expanded this market.
For example, much of the electronics market has now shifted to online channels. The same is true of fashion, even though many consumers were initially sceptical.
Large online businesses continue to pop up in these sectors, despite competition from conventional retailers and well-established e-commerce companies.
I believe that online grocery shopping, and an expectation of ultrafast delivery, is going to become the new normal very soon.
In the fast growing UK market, there is still enough room for multiple participants of different shapes and sizes. It is a dynamic space with many moving pieces.
In time, we might see some market consolidation with a few companies establishing a dominant position. What I am certain about is that it will remain an exciting sector and the place to be going forward.
RTIH: What are your other predictions for the rapid grocery delivery space over the next six months or so?
EC: We might see a greater variety of products and services offered for on-demand ultrafast delivery, blurring the lines between grocery shopping and e-commerce in a more general sense.
Another innovation, which is already being piloted for food and grocery delivery by Yandex in some areas of the United States and Russia, is autonomous delivery.
We might see more autonomous robots preparing and delivering orders in different geographies, transforming them from a novelty to a commonplace tool.
While it’s always interesting to ponder future trends, we are focused on our work here and now to turn Yango Deli into a major player in London.
RTIH: What can we expect from Yango Deli in the next 12 months?
You can expect to see more and more yellow clad couriers traversing London streets, as we grow our footprint by expanding our coverage area in London.
You will also likely see changes in our assortment, as we continue to localise our offering based on hyperlocal demand in each area of coverage.
We also plan to add additional hot food items beyond breakfast pastries and coffee to our offering – watch this space.
