MOSCOW, Dec. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CTC Media has signed an agreement with KupiVIP.ru (Private Trade, LLC), Russia's largest online retailer, regarding the joint creation of a new brand of women's clothing. This project, the first e-commerce project by a television holding in Russia, launches in April 2014.
Clothing, especially women's clothing, is one of the most in-demand product categories in e-commerce. The SPRING/SUMMER collection will consist of over 120 articles of women's clothing, including different models and colors, ranging from Russian sizes 42 to 54 (US sizes 6 to 20). The brand's concept synergizes the holding's television projects on beauty and make-overs; it's feminine, elegant, and helps women with any complexion look amazing.
A specially-created section on domashniy.ru will be the main point of sale. The design structure of one of the most popular women's website on the Russian internet will be transformed to more effectively engage users and clearly manage their behavior from the moment the come to the site to completing their purchase.
KupiVIP will be completely responsible for organizing production and sales support. CTC Media will handle the new brands' marketing and promotion in its television projects and digital platforms. The latter's current total coverage is currently 18% of the whole Russian internet's audience.
CTC Media will own the rights to the new trademark.
Yuliana Slashcheva, CTC Media's Chief Executive Officer: "Television has the unique capability to turn products into recognized brands and we want to use this capability. The Russian e-commerce market is one of this fastest-growing in the world, increasing by approximately 25% per year. And while being the first at something is always difficult, we plan on starting work in this sector with minimal risks for us. Our partner knows the market very well. KupiVIP is an expert in producing and pricing products. CTC Media possesses the unique expertise and enormous capabilities to promote the new brand on all available platforms. All this together provides for sales margins and allows us to significantly save on marketing costs. The new project should diversify revenue, as well as monetize the Company's main business which is an important step on the path to realizing CTC Media's long-term strategy."
Oskar Hartmann, Chief Executive Officer of KupiVIP.ru: "KupiVIP.ru already has experience in clothes production, but our partnership with CTC Media is the first partnership between a media company and an e-commerce company in Russia. It is opening up wonderful prospects for us, the partners in this project — as well as for residents of Russia who will get a completely new clothing brand created in their country and made with their preferences in mind. This collection will be fashionable and feminine, while also being easy to buy without lines or long trips to the store. I think that women in Russia will surely appreciate this possibility."
About KupiVIP
KupiVIP.ru was founded by Oskar Hartmann in 2008. It now includes KupiVIP.ru's shopping club http://www.kupivip.ru/shop/start which offers over 1,500 brands of fashionable clothes, shows, and accessories with discounts of up to 90% in closed sales (offers), the KupiLUXE.ru online boutique http://www.kupiluxe.ru/ , the online store ShopTime.ru http://shoptime.ru/ with a permanent variety of products for the whole family, as well as KupiVIP E-Commerce Services http://b2b.kupivip.ru/ which has thus far opened and supports online stores like TsUM, Adidas, Snezhnaya Koroleva, ALBA, MOTIVI, Karen Millen, and others. The holding also has its own successfully modeling agency, NEW ONE Model Management http://new-one-model.com/. And in 2013, a completely new website for fashion and fashionable living was launched - Fashion Stylist http://fashionstylist.kupivip.ru/. Website: http://www.kupivip.ru. Telephone number: +7 (495) 99-444-99
About CTC Media, Inc.
CTC Media is a leading Russian independent media company, with operations throughout Russia and elsewhere in the CIS. It operates three free-to-air television networks in Russia – CTC, Domashny and PERETZ – as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and a TV company in Moldova, with a combined potential audience of over 150 million people. The international pay-TV version of the CTC channel is available in North America, Europe, Central Asia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Middle East and Kyrgyzstan. PERETZ is also available in Belarus. CTC Media has a number of digital entertainment media assets: videomore.ru, domashniy.ru, ctc.ru, peretz.ru. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "CTCM". For more information on CTC Media, please visit www.ctcmedia.ru.