Ukraine’s largest one dollar store chain Aurora intends to open 400 new stores this year and reach 2,000 outlets in Ukraine by the end of next year, said Taras Panasenko, CEO of the chain.
“We opened 40 stores in June, 24 in July, and more than 30 in August. The plan for this year is 400 stores, and we are basically fulfilling it. Today, together with the Romanian stores, we have already passed the figure of 1.5 thousand stores, including 25 in Romania and more than 1480 in Ukraine. The plan for Ukraine is 2.5 thousand stores. I think that at the end of next year we will definitely exceed 2 thousand stores, and in 2026 we will reach the goal,” Panasenko said at the Forbes Ukraine Business Breakfast on Wednesday.
According to him, next year the chain plans to enter the Moldovan market, and in 2026 to expand to other markets, considering the Balkan countries.
In addition, the company intends to develop new formats in the network, as well as digital business. In particular, the company opened a new store in Kyiv with a larger area, children’s and beauty departments, and a quick snack area.
“Aurora also continues to develop in the area of waste sorting and recycling: it plans to open waste sorting points in two cities by the end of the year. Currently, there is one in Poltava.
According to Panasenko, the network’s revenue grew by 55% in the first quarter. The company has the same plan for the second quarter, despite the power outage in July.
“We finished the first quarter as planned, with 55% growth. I think the second quarter will be the same. Of course, the power outage and the atypical heat wave in July had a significant impact. During this period, we fulfilled the plan by 85-90%, but now the situation has returned to normal,” the businessman explained.
“Aurora was founded in 2011 by Lev Zhidenko, Taras Panasenko and Lesya Klymenko. The head office of the Aurora retail chain is located in Poltava. Today, the chain has more than 1.4 thousand stores in Ukraine and 25 in Romania.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vyhidna Kupilka LLC, which develops the chain, is listed as Cyprus-based Aurority Investments Limited, with Zhydenko as its beneficiary. The Cypriot company also owns Prior Development LLC, Seven A LLC, Promyslova 9 LLC, and Tak LLC.
At the end of 2023, the network’s net profit amounted to UAH 4.1 billion, and net income – UAH 27 billion.
The average price of pork on supermarket shelves in July amounted to 193.3 UAH/kg, which is 0.8% or 1.5 UAH/kg higher than in June, according to the Ukrainian Pig Association (UPA).
“The price of the seasonally popular position – pork neck – increased most noticeably (by 3.3%). Pork tenderloin and steak went up by 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively, while the change in prices for shoulder and loin was limited to 1% and 0.8%. Brisket and thigh, on the contrary, became more affordable (-2.6% and -1.7%), which slightly slowed down the growth of average pork prices,” analysts said.
According to experts, although the demand for pork remains sensitive to changes in prices on the shelves, their fluctuations in July were insignificant, and other factors influenced the dynamics of trade.
“Suppliers to retail chains and specialized meat shops experienced a slowdown in sales during the month due to prolonged power outages and high temperatures. At the same time, they noted a revival in demand as the power supply stabilized and temperatures dropped. An additional factor that supports consumer interest in this type of meat is that in July, chilled pork semi-finished products cost an average of 6% cheaper than a year ago, while chicken, on the contrary, rose by 4%,” the industry association summarized.
During the 11 months of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor’s operation, 62 million tons of cargo have been transported, including 42 million tons of grain.
“During the 11 months of the corridor’s operation, Ukrainian ports managed to transship more than 62 million tons of cargo, including 42 million tons of grain. In total, we are talking about more than 2.2 thousand vessels. These are incredible figures that once again prove Ukraine is a reliable partner and can ensure the export of goods by sea even in times of war,” Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Serhiy Derkach said on his Facebook page on Tuesday following a meeting with journalists from Kenya, Nigeria, Gambia and South Africa.
He noted that the key topic of conversation was the work of the Ukrainian corridor in the Black Sea and cooperation with the countries of the Global South.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the functioning of the sea corridor proves that Ukraine has been and remains one of the guarantors of food security in the world.
“It is food security that is the second point of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula. Free and safe navigation in the Black and Azov Seas is a prerequisite for the world to receive the necessary food,” Derkach emphasized.
According to him, the meeting also discussed cooperation in various fields. In particular, the work with Morocco on the Road Transport Agreement. The country will be the first in Africa to sign an agreement on road transport.
During the meeting, the issue of “exporting” digital technologies was raised.
“Of course, we are primarily interested in the export of agricultural products, but we are a country that has vast experience in creating digital products. I am convinced that we can share this experience with African countries,” Derkach said.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority reported that 60 million tons of cargo had been transported over 11 months of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor’s operation.
Rental activity in the warehouse real estate market of Ukraine in January-June 2024 increased by 13% compared to the same period last year and amounted to about 70 thousand square meters, according to a study by CBRE Ukraine.
“Despite the ongoing war and related challenges, the warehouse market continues to show signs of recovery and is the most stable segment of commercial real estate today. Although the volume of leasing activity is still restrained due to the current market conditions, several large tenants are exploring market opportunities for expansion, which may have a positive impact on leasing transactions in the coming quarters,” the company said in its report.
According to the company, the main trend in the first half of the year was the predominance of preliminary lease agreements in the structure of gross absorption, which are concluded before the commissioning of facilities. The reason for this was the low vacancy rate on the market – at 2%, as well as growing demand from the wholesale and retail trade segment and pharmaceutical companies, CBRE notes.
In the second half of 2024 and in 2025, about 170 thousand square meters of new supply is expected to enter the market, which will reduce the pressure of minimum vacancy, according to the company’s analysts. In addition, over the next two years, it is planned to restore 100 thousand square meters of warehouse space that was destroyed as a result of the aggressor’s missile attacks in 2022.
By the end of the first half of 2024, the prime rental rate for warehouses in Kyiv amounted to $4.9 per sq m per month (excluding VAT and OPEX payments), which is on average 20% lower than in other capitals of Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, the cost of construction of warehouse real estate in our country is 20% higher than in our neighbors: $500-600/sq m versus $400-500/sq m. This is influenced by the economic and energy crisis, hostilities, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, the study says.
At the same time, there is an increase in investment activity in the Ukrainian warehouse market. CBRE points out that among foreign investors interested in industrial real estate, construction companies that plan to participate in the restoration of Ukraine after the end of active hostilities stand out.
In addition, European companies are actively considering nearshoring (outsourcing to neighboring countries) in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. According to the CBRE European Logistics Occupier Survey 2024, 68% of respondents believe that outsourcing will have a significant impact on the development of logistics in Europe in the near future.
CBRE, headquartered in Los Angeles (USA), is the world’s largest commercial real estate advisory and investment company, with revenues of $30.8 billion in 2022. According to Fortune, it is one of the world’s 500 largest companies. CBRE Group Inc. shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. CBRE’s Ukrainian office was opened in January 2008 and is part of the company’s affiliate network.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
Foxtrot, an omnichannel electronics and home appliances retailer, paid UAH 224 million in taxes for the second quarter of 2024, with the total amount for January-June exceeding UAH 430 million, which is 76% of the full amount last year, the company’s press service reports.
The release says that in April-June 2024, compared to the same period last year, turnover increased by 18%. The largest growth was shown in the categories of accessories (+56%), smartphones (+27%), computer equipment (+33%), and non-core products (+237%), including products for children. Traffic to the website increased by 11%.
According to Foxtrot CEO Oleksiy Zozulya, charging stations were the absolute best sellers. Compared to the previous peak of sales of these products in November-December 2022, in June 2024, Foxtrot sold 110% more of them. In total, in June 2024, the number of charging stations sold was twice as high as in January-May 2024 and 120% higher than in the whole of 2023.
In April-June, the retailer opened three renovated stores: in Dnipro (Karavan shopping center), Kyiv (Lavina Mall) and Lviv (Arsen shopping center). The number of participants in the FoxFan loyalty program continues to grow; in the second quarter of 2024, about 157 thousand Ukrainians joined the cashback program, and the total number of participants at the end of June was more than 14.3 million.
“We manage to maintain our position (in the market) thanks to the renewal of the retail network and the quality of the online store, in-depth work with customer experience, and improvement of logistics processes. Participation in current social projects and the introduction of modern accessibility services to serve people with disabilities are also relevant,” commented Zozulia on the results of the chain’s work.
“Foxtrot is one of the largest omnichannel retail chains in Ukraine in terms of the number of stores and sales of electronics and household appliances. The company operates 123 stores in 67 cities, including the frontline cities of Kherson, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Pokrovsk, and an online platform Foxtrot.ua and a mobile application of the same name.
The Foxtrot brand is developed by the Foxtrot group of companies. The co-founders are Valery Makovetsky and Gennady Vykhodtsev.
Zaporozhkoks, one of Ukraine’s largest coke and chemical producers and part of Metinvest Group, increased its blast furnace coke output by 1.9% year-on-year to 509.6 thousand tons from 499.9 thousand tons in January-July this year.
According to the company, it produced 74.3 thousand tons of coke in July.
As reported, Zaporozhkoks increased its blast furnace coke production by 16% in 2023 compared to 2022, up to 856.8 thousand tons from 737.4 thousand tons.
“Zaporozhkoks produces about 10% of coke in Ukraine and has a full technological cycle of coke products processing. It also produces coke oven gas and pitch coke.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
