Results: which foreign companies entered the market of Uzbekistan in 2022

Spot sums up the year.

The business did not have time to fully recover from the coronavirus when a new crisis erupted – the war in Ukraine and all the ensuing consequences, in the form of sanctions against Russia – one of the main trading partners of Uzbekistan, and as a result – additional difficulties in doing business for Uzbek entrepreneurs, up to before falling under secondary US sanctions.

Despite all the difficulties, foreign companies continued to be interested in Uzbekistan. Several dozen global companies have entered the local market, of which we have selected the most significant according to our version.

bi1
Formally, the French bi1 grocery chain entered the country’s market at the end of 2021. The first chain stores in Tashkent opened a couple of days before the New Year. However, the active growth of the company began in 2022.

The chain stores are part of the Schiever company, which has been a partner of Auchan since 1996.

Broniboy
The Russian goods delivery service Broniboy was launched in Tashkent in April. Then more than 50 partners connected to the platform. The service, as in Russia, delivers food from restaurants, goods from shops, pharmacies and flower shops.

According to representatives of the company, the amount of investment amounted to $300,000.

In the next few years, the service plans to cover all large and medium-sized cities with a population of 50,000 or more.

wildberries
In February, the Russian marketplace opened a pick-up point in Tashkent equipped with fitting rooms. At the end of 2021, the retailer received the wildberries.uz domain, which previously belonged to a local compote producer.

Delivery of goods is carried out by the company’s own logistics service. Wildberries also urged local entrepreneurs to open pickup points on their own and earn up to 3.5% of turnover.

In the summer, the marketplace switched to settlements in soums with sellers and partners from Uzbekistan.

Chery
Sales of Chery in Uzbekistan started at the end of October. Earlier, the Chinese automaker signed a cooperation agreement with Roodell, which became the official car distributor in the country.

Under the same contract, the assembly of three Chery models at the ADM Jizzakh plant began – Tiggo 8 Pro Max, Tiggo 7 Pro and Arrizo 6 Pro. The partners intend to launch the production of electric vehicles in the future.

Accor
International hotel group Accor is preparing to open at least five hotels in Uzbekistan. Among them are two hotels that are being opened in collaboration with Lumiere Hotel – Mercure, created as a result of the rebranding of the Lumiere Hotel & SPA Tashkent and ibis, which will be located in a six-story new building on Shota Rustaveli Street.

There are also plans to open Mövenpick Samarkand on the basis of the 4-star Registan Plaza hotel, Swissôtel Tashkent on the basis of the Miran International hotel and Swissôtel Charvak, which will be located in the Tashkent region near the Charvak reservoir.

“Magnit”
In April, the Russian retailer Magnit opened the first MCosmetic store in Tashkent with health and beauty products – cosmetics, perfumes, household chemicals, hygiene products, household and children’s goods.

At the end of November, it became known that the company had already opened 10 stores in the capital and intended to increase the number of outlets to 15 by the end of the year.

The assortment of the store includes both Russian and foreign, and Uzbek brands, as well as Magnit’s own brands – Stellary, Beauty Bomb, KuMiHo, Gardenica.

ATI.SU
This is one of the largest online platforms in the CIS for placing orders for the delivery of goods. In October, she added access for Uzbek shippers and carriers, and also opened a representative office in Tashkent.

Geointellect
The Russian Center for Spatial Research entered the country’s market at the end of May. Geointellect has worked with such Russian retailers and developers as Leroy Merlin, X5 Group, Adidas, KFC, Lamoda, Ozon, Wildberries and others.

In Uzbekistan, the company participated in the development of a situational center at the khokimiyat of Tashkent.

“Sirovarnya”
The establishment of the Russian chain opened in Tashkent on a franchise basis. The restaurant has replenished a number of establishments of the AB Group holding Alisher Akramov. In an interview with Spot, the restaurateur said that the Family Garden Group holding was the initiator of the franchise opening. The idea came up two years ago. And the franchise of Arkady Novikov (Russian restaurateur, businessman) in Tashkent became the fifth for them.

“Oriyonbank”
A Tajik bank opened a representative office in Tashkent in August.

“Gazprombank”
Representative office of Gazprombank received accreditation in Uzbekistan. The Russian bank opened an office in the country to establish and develop relations with local government agencies, financial and credit organizations and other companies.

Who else can enter the country’s market

Intercity hotel
The international hotel brand is preparing to enter the market of Uzbekistan. The opening of IntercityHotel Tashkent is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023. A 122-room hotel with a conference hall, a swimming pool, a gym club and other services will be located in the Mirabad district of the capital. The new hotel will create 160 jobs. In addition, a hotel is being built in Bukhara.

Prow
An IT service provider in the field of cybersecurity and data management, based in the UAE, has announced the expansion of its geography. The company plans to launch services in Uzbekistan and Bahrain.

Star Coffee
After the outbreak of the war, a number of international companies left the Russian market, including Starbucks. Rapper Timati and his partner Anton Pinsky became the new owners of the coffee shop chain.

The chain of coffee houses plans to enter foreign markets, including Uzbekistan, through franchises.

Ithub
The Russian network of education in the field of technology decided to focus on the Russian-speaking audience abroad. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Israel and Indonesia are considered for business development.

The company is considering the possibility of translating educational content into Uzbek.

PAGE Club
A network of co-working spaces from St. Petersburg is considering opportunities to enter five countries as a franchise — Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. For coworking centers, they are looking for premises from 600 sq. m. Against the background of the mass relocation of Russians, the company notes the demand for renting workspace in the CIS countries.

Kyongnam Bank
South Korean bank BNK Kyongnam Bank intends to open a subsidiary in Uzbekistan specializing in digital banking services.

Exeed
The Chinese automotive brand Exeed is considering entering the Uzbek market in early 2023. The company is currently negotiating the location of its future production facility. Exeed, despite the status of a subsidiary of Chery, intends to develop production and a dealer network separately from the parent company.

“Ecole”
A subsidiary of the Bashkir Soda Company produces detergents and cleaning products under well-known local brands, including Zifa and Luch washing powders. The company announced plans to enter the market of Uzbekistan.

Binance
The international crypto exchange Binance has opened a vacancy for a general manager in Uzbekistan. In this position, the manager will have to develop strategies, action plans and a business model for the new market. He will also lead the crypto exchange’s local team, ensure that targets are met and manage its marketing operations.