The tender was posted in early August, with delivery required within a week and wire thickness capped at 2.5 millimeters, The Bell reported. The purchase covers eight Russian regions where the company operates logistics centers.
Contractors in only three of the eight regions have submitted bids so far, at prices ranging from 154 to 474 rubles per square meter, according to The Bell's calculations. At those rates, the entire purchase could cost Wildberries between 73.6 million and 226.5 million rubles.
A source at an industrial company told The Bell the purchase is tied to drone defense. The source attributed the popularity of such solutions to their high effectiveness and the absence of regulatory requirements beyond construction rules. Wildberries itself has not disclosed the purpose of the purchase.
The Bell noted that 478,000 square meters of netting would cover 67 football fields. Similar structures installed along the perimeter of facilities are already in use around oil depots, thermal power plants, substations and gas infrastructure. According to Verstka, installing such a "dome" costs between 3 million and 50 million rubles, depending on the size of the facility.
Wildberries has simultaneously issued another tender, for the supply of silica fabric for 14 of its facilities in various regions. The heat-resistant material withstands temperatures of 1,000 to 1,200 degrees Celsius and can serve as a fire barrier during a drone attack, at a cost of 550 to 3,050 rubles per square meter.
Ukrainian drones have been attacking Wildberries logistics hubs since mid-July. According to Deutsche Welle, at least 21 of the company's facilities in Russia and annexed Crimea were hit between mid-July and August 5, with large fires breaking out at many of them. There were fatalities and more than a hundred people injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strikes as a response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and claimed that sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment were stored at Wildberries warehouses.
By August 17, the area of the company's warehouse space destroyed or put out of operation had reached about 2.4 million square meters, or roughly 43% of all its warehouse space, according to The Bell's estimate. The Bell estimated sellers' losses from destroyed goods at 250 billion to 270 billion rubles after the first attacks on July 18 and 22, and the company's own losses at 100 billion to 200 billion rubles.
After the attacks, the share of Wildberries sellers operating under the FBS model — storing and shipping from their own warehouses — rose from 55.1% to 97.4% over two months, and on Ozon from 63.3% to 73.1%. Market participants link the shift to the series of strikes on logistics centers. The company has also begun moving capacity to Kazakhstan.
In late August, Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the government to place critical infrastructure facilities under temporary management if their owners fail to ensure the required level of security. The measure covers logistics facilities of "particularly important significance," among others.