Russian Wildberries customers are posting photos of parcels containing men’s sex toys with partially charred packaging. The photos emerged following a series of attacks on the marketplace’s logistics centres. The photos do not contain any information that would allow the warehouse, dispatch date or route to be identified, and the company has not publicly commented on the delivery of such goods.
Briefly about the main points
- Photos have appeared on social media showing products with burn marks in Wildberries boxes.
- It is not possible to determine the contents or route of specific parcels from the photographs.
- On the night of 24 July, the company’s facilities at three locations were attacked.
- Since 18 July, at least eight Wildberries logistics facilities have been hit.
- Items that have been exposed to fire, smoke or high temperatures should be returned to the seller.
What can be seen in the photographs
The photographs released show Wildberries’ branded packaging boxes containing adult products. The packaging is partly charred, misshapen and covered in soot.
The authors of the posts claim that they received the parcels only after attacks on logistics centres on the marketplace. However, the photographs themselves do not contain any markings that would allow the goods to be linked to a specific warehouse or fire. Wildberries has not publicly reported any deliveries of burnt goods to customers.
A new wave of attacks on logistics centres
On the night of 24 July, drones struck three more Wildberries facilities — in St Petersburg, the Leningrad Region and occupied Simferopol. According to Reuters, this was the fourth wave of attacks on the company’s logistics infrastructure since 18 July.
Fires broke out at warehouses in Shushary and at the «Utkin Plant». In Simferopol, staff at the sorting centre were evacuated, and a fire was subsequently reported on the premises.
Previous strikes damaged the centres in Elektrostal, near Moscow, and in Kotovsk, in the Tambov Region. Russian media estimated the value of the goods that may have been stored at these two sites alone at between 150 and 235 billion roubles. The exact extent of the losses is still being determined.
How could damaged goods have reached the customer?
One possible explanation is that the order was prepared before the fire, but was removed from the warehouse only after it had been brought under control. The goods may also have been damaged whilst being moved between different areas of the logistics centre or during the emergency evacuation.
These are merely possible scenarios: the marketplace has not explained whether it has dispatched undamaged goods from the affected areas, nor how it inspects them following the fires. The company is redistributing orders amongst other centres to maintain deliveries. Such a large movement of goods may increase the risk of errors during sorting and quality control.
Losses for sellers and risks for buyers
Since 18 July, at least eight Wildberries logistics facilities have been hit, accounting for over 10% of the company’s warehouse capacity. The damage has affected the goods of tens of thousands of Russian entrepreneurs.
Wildberries has begun paying out compensation to some of its sellers. However, the company’s contracts classify drone attacks and damage resulting from hostilities as force majeure, so not all sellers will be eligible for full compensation.
