Lokata.ru closes multi-million financial round
Lokata.ru, the leading Russian location-based search and promotion platform, has recently closed another multi-million financial round with Bonial International Group and e.Ventures, which proves that the company’s business model is extremely attractive for investors.
Lokata.ru was launched in April, 2012 by Fast Lane Ventures together with Bonial International Group (B.I.G.), Axel Springer company, market maker and leader among location-based services for shopping information. Lokata.ru is on a roll to conquering the retail market in Russia, repeating the success of it’s predecessor, German service kaufDA.de, that was launched in 2008.
The Lokata.ru website and mobile applications combine geolocation with a powerful search engine to help consumers find needed goods in the nearest, most relevant or least expensive retail points in the city, and get all the information about the retailer – opening hours, addresses and even routes, driving them right to the door of the store. In addition to that, users of Lokata.ru can enjoy browsing retailer’s brochures and catalogues right from their tablet or smartphone, and sharing them with friends or subscribing for further updates of preferred retailer.
Lokata.ru offers a unique innovative channel for retailers to communicate directly with the customers that have an active interest to buy, thus adding an essential part to their marketing mix which allows retail brands to become more flexible and increase the number of customers as well as their loyalty and engagement.
«Consumers all over the world still prefer to shop offline, but now most of them are browsing the internet to get more information about goods, prices and nearest retail points before they start shopping, or even at the same time. We are pioneers of ROPO (research online, purchase offline) in Europe, and we see a great potential in Russia, that is #1 in terms of internet users in Europe, but still much more conservative and used to offline shopping, with a record ROPO-factor of almost 70% – more than in any other European country. The closed funding round with E.Ventures make us confident that we are on the right way to success on a new market» – says Christian Gaiser, Bonial International Group CEO.
“We strongly believe in the potential of the location-based promotion market which is currently only in its infancy. Having been part of Kaufda’s success story in Germany, we are very happy to join Lokata in Russia and to support the team with our local network. The Lokata-team has done an incredible job during the last months what makes us confident that we are on the right path to build a market leading company together”-adds Damian Doberstein, Partner e.Ventures
The majority of Russia’s largest and most credible retailers have already recognized the competitive advantage that Lokata.ru brings to their businesses. Russian consumers have also enjoyed new service, bringing Lokata.ru mobile applications to the top position of AppStore rankings.