Muller: from toy wholesale trade in Russia to a tools brand in Uzbekistan

From Russian marketplaces to an Uzbek brand

The founder of the Muller construction tools brand told Kun.uz the company's story in an interview. Before launching on Uzum Market, the team was engaged in wholesale and retail trade of toys in Russia and had experience working with the Ozon and Wildberries marketplaces. According to the interviewee, this experience gave them a good understanding of the specifics of online commerce. After moving to Uzbekistan, they decided to apply their accumulated knowledge in a new business, and on February 23, 2024, the company Muller was founded.

Why tools were chosen

The choice of direction, as the founder explained, was largely determined by business connections: an acquaintance of his in China owns a factory producing construction tools, which at that time was considering entering new markets. The founders considered this direction promising and decided to develop their own brand in the Uzbek market, using Uzum Market as their main sales platform.

Market differences and the main lesson of the start

According to the founder, the team initially expected to apply familiar e-commerce principles in the new market, but quickly discovered an important difference in consumer behavior. In his observation, in Russia buyers are more often willing to pay a little extra for quality, whereas in Uzbekistan price often becomes the decisive factor when choosing a product. This forced the company to adapt its product range and pricing policy — the founder called this one of the main lessons of the start.

Product range and team

According to the interview, the sales leader in the product range is a set of 399 tools — it has become one of the brand's most successful products. The Muller team is small: six people, of whom two work in China and four in Uzbekistan.

Context and significance

The story of Muller illustrates how entrepreneurs with experience on Russian marketplaces transfer e-commerce models to the Uzbek market, relying on the local Uzum Market platform and Chinese manufacturing. For the local market, this is an example of adaptation to local demand: as the founder himself notes, pricing policy matters more here than in the markets they previously worked in. In practical terms, this means that sellers on Uzum Market have to build their product range and prices taking into account the price sensitivity of Uzbek buyers. The article is based on a single interview and reflects the point of view of the brand's founder; the publication contains no independent data on the company's financial performance.