SberMarket and METRO make dark store move in Moscow

SberMarket, a grocery and off-the-shelf goods online delivery service, has partnered with METRO to open what is pitched as the first joint dark store (aka micro-fulfilment centre) in Moscow.

The facility is situated in a METRO store at 19 Shosseynaya street.

It covers an area of 1,000 sq.m and features about 10,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). Express delivery is now available for residents of south east Moscow.

According to SberMarket, 80% of the orders placed by customers at METRO are for the 3,346 most bought SKUs, and 90% are for the 6,016 SKUs.

By storing the most popular items in a specially equipped centre, it will says it will significantly reduce order picking and delivery times. Residents of the areas surrounding the dark store will be able to receive groceries and goods from METRO within 30-80 minutes.

Dmitry Zhulin, Co-Founder and Vice President of Strategy at SberMarket, says: “This new model will reverse the approach to delivery from retailers’ offline hypermarkets.”

“It will increase order picking and delivery speed multiple times, unload stores, and maintain high integrity and a wide product range for customers.

“It will, furthermore, improve online delivery unit economics: procurement experts will be able to pick up more orders over the same period, thus increasing efficiency and turnover per square metre.”

“We are already considering expanding the project to other cities and regions, including new partnerships.”

Martin Schumacher, CEO at METRO Cash&Carry Russia, says: “The launch of the dark store and express delivery are just the tip of the iceberg of our e-commerce development.”

“We are constantly improving stores’ internal processes, launching new partnerships and developing technical solutions to ensure that customers always get whatever and whenever they want.”

“This ensures that METRO stores remain the most convenient locations for our partners’ delivery services.”

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