KupiVIP, a Russian online shopping club for luxury brands, is taking what its spokespeople tell us is a record investment for Russian e-commerce – a $55 million third round.
With the money, the site will start behaving more like Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), we’re told – selling consumer goods as well as luxury discount offers, and building a white label platform on which it hopes retail brands will create stores to sell in to Russia and the former Soviet states.
The company, which has 750 staff, does not intend to expand outside Russia but, rather, to be international brands’ gateway to the region.
KupiVIP claims seven million registered members and says 2010 revenue grew sevenfold.
Previous backers Accel and Mangrove teamed with Balderton, Bessemer and Russia Partners for the investment.