PickPoint, a leading logistics operator at the Russian e-commerce market, and ADG group, the developer of the largest retail project in Moscow, announce a strategic partnership: next-generation Click&Collect zones will open in the network of 39 neighbourhood centres over the next two years. PickPoint will become the official and exclusive representative of the network of 39 neighbourhood centres for Russian online stores and will be fully responsible for the launch, logistics, and operations of the new Click&Collect service, developed jointly with ADG group.

ADG group has been remodeling 39 former Soviet movie theaters and repurposing them as a network of neighbourhood centres intended for regular visits by local residents: a new format of commercial real estate for the Russian market. Thanks to the partnership with a leading logistics operator, ADG Group as a developer is able to expand the range of the products and services offered by integrating e-commerce players into the project and providing an omnichannel buyer experience.

Grigory Pecherskiy, Managing Partner, ADG Group:

"With PickPoint joining the project, we begin to create an omnichannel infrastructure for the network of neighbourhood centres and build our joint operational and marketing processes around this infrastructure. This strategic partnership with a leading logistics operator once again confirms the efficiency of the concept of neighbourhood centres and our readiness to create a modern convenient infrastructure for leisure and shopping, based on the changed behavior of consumers."

The new Click & Collect service is specifically designed for the network of neighbourhood centres. The purpose of launching this service is to create a positive buying experience and give 2.5 million Moscow residents within walking distance an opportunity to shop online with a whole new level of convenience. Thanks to the use of new technology and a personalized approach, the functionality of the Click&Collect zone at the neighbourhood centres will be much wider than that of a traditional pick-up point. The service will be used to help people learn online shopping and promote new products.

Nadezhda Romanova, General Director, PickPoint:

"The neighbourhood centres project will provide online sellers with a new type of an offline platform for interacting with potential buyers. As an innovative company, we are involved in projects that through technology change the way everyday services are perceived. Together with ADG Group, we are looking to develop an omnichannel infrastructure, which enables people to use services and information in the manner most convenient way for them at any given moment."

Grigory Pecherskiy, Managing Partner, ADG Group:

"Neighbourhood centres are a unique concept to the market. We have moved away from the usual shopping center tenant mix and focused on the real needs of each particular district’s residents. Our partnership with PickPoint is an opportunity to integrate online players into the ecosystem of the neighbourhood centres network and provide consumers with a convenient and comfortable way of shopping online. Using our new Click&Collect service, retailers will be able to present their products and services to the neighbourhood centre demographic without even being there physically."

By partnering with ADG Group, PickPoint opens a new business direction for themselves. The new concept of the Click&Collect service, planned to be launched at the neighbourhood centress, will provide Russian online retailers with a new platform for communicating with potential customers and attract buyers to their online stores.

Nadezhda Romanova, General Director, PickPoint:

"PickPoint launches a new line of business in response to the needs of e-commerce players: online stores and marketplaces will be able to cut the cost of creating their own offline platforms for communicating with buyers. Click&Collect at the neighbourhood centress will provide them with all the marketing and logistics tools needed to attract buyers and increase sales.

Currently the population of Moscow is 12.5 million people, of which 8 million have online shopping experience. At the same time, there are no more than 3 million active buyers. Our objective is to turn the remaining 5 million into active buyers. The Click&Collect zones at the neighbourhood centress will enable us to provide a convenient and comfortable infrastructure for training new online buyers, and provide the existing ones with an integrated point of choosing, ordering and picking up their online purchases."

The first Click&Collect zone of the new generation will be opened next spring at the Angara neighbourhood centre by Varshavskaya Station. The rest will begin operation in 2019-2020, following the launches of the other neighbourhood centress in ADG Group’s network.

The network of neighbourhood centress will include 39 sites located between the Third Ring Road and MKAD. Construction work has already begun at 10 sites and construction permits have been obtained for another 20 sites of the network. Besides PickPoint, the Lenta supermarket chain and the South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV have become strategic partners of ADG Group’s neighbourhood centres project.