The Aurora Group opened its first Aurora store in Bucharest on Friday, July 11. This store is the 50th in Romania, according to the company’s press service, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
“Our business model, which combines a wide range of products, high-quality service, and affordable prices, has proven popular with both Ukrainian and European consumers. The opening in Bucharest is a testament to our customers’ trust and a significant step toward conquering the European market. We are proud to represent Ukrainian quality abroad and open up new opportunities for Ukrainian manufacturers on the international stage,” commented Taras Panasenko, co-owner of the Aurora group of companies.
The new Aurora store (Bucuresti, Calea Cringasi nr.29 sector 6) has a total area of 200 square meters and offers a compact store format with a wide range of products, where you can buy everything you need for your daily needs. For comfortable shopping, price checkers are located in the sales area for quick price verification by customers.
The press service noted that Aurora is successfully competing in the Romanian market, with a local customer loyalty index (NPS) even higher than in Ukraine—approximately 80 versus 60.
As reported, the first Aurora store in Romania opened in October 2023 in Suceava, marking the beginning of the company’s international expansion.
In 2024, a distribution center was opened in Bacău, which optimized logistics.
The expansion of the Aurora group of companies in Romania opens up new opportunities for both local and Ukrainian manufacturers. Today, more than 27 Ukrainian companies already export their products for sale in Aurora stores in Romania.
This is not only a stimulus for the growth of Ukrainian exports, but also a bridge to the international market for small and medium-sized businesses from Ukraine. Aurora is a national company with direct foreign investment from the Horizon Capital Fund, founded in 2011 by Lev Zhydenko,
Taras Panasenko, and Lesya Klymenko, with its head office located in Poltava. As of July 2025, the chain has more than 1,700 Aurora stores in Ukraine and 50 Aurora stores in Romania.
The Ukrainian chain of one-dollar stores Aurora (Vygidna Pokupka LLC) will invest UAH 3.2 billion (including VAT) in 2025, including UAH 1.3 billion in the restoration of the WestGate logistics center, according to the chain’s CEO Taras Panasenko.
“This is Aurora Multimarket’s response to the intensified attacks on Kyiv. We are investing. In 2024, we invested UAH 2.7 billion (including VAT) in Ukraine. The investment plan for Ukraine for 2025 is more than UAH 3.2 billion (including VAT),” he said on Facebook.
According to him, all the necessary permits have already been obtained, and Aurora has begun rebuilding the WestGate logistics center in the village of Stoyanka near Kyiv, which was completely destroyed in 2022.
“This is the same logistics center that was bombed by the Russians, where the GoodWIne warehouse was located. This year, investments in the reconstruction of WestGate will amount to more than UAH 1.3 billion. The rest will be invested in the network and technology. We will rebuild and create a thousand new jobs here. We plan to launch by January 2026,” he said.
In total, the company plans to create more than 2,500 new jobs in Ukraine in 2025.
“Our partners, Ukrainian manufacturers, of which there are currently more than 600, are also investing and creating new jobs. In addition, thanks to the active development of the Romanian company, our partners, Ukrainian manufacturers, are exporting to the European market for Aurora in Romania. We will stand firm,” Panasenko emphasized.
As reported, Aurora’s revenue for 2024 increased by 42.5% to UAH 38.5 billion (excluding VAT). In the first quarter of 2025, revenue grew by 32.5% to UAH 10.6 billion.
Aurora was founded in 2011 by Zhydenko, Taras Panasenko, and Lesya Klymenko. At the end of 2024, the chain had over 1,600 stores in Ukraine and 30 in Romania. The retail chain’s head office is located in Poltava.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vygidna Kupivlya LLC, which develops the chain, is the Cypriot company Avrorailt Investmens Limited, whose beneficiary is Zhydenko.
The Ukrainian chain of one-dollar stores Aurora (Vygidna Pokupka LLC) is expected to reach $1 billion in revenue by the end of 2025, according to the company’s co-founder Lev Zhydenko.
“Mathematically, last year it was ($1 billion in revenue – IF-U), if you count VAT. Without VAT, it will be this amount,” Zhydenko said at the Forbes Ukraine Business Breakfast on Thursday.
According to him, over the next five years, the company plans to develop as a management platform, whose goal, among other things, is to support Ukrainian manufacturers and represent them in foreign markets.
In addition, Aurora plans to further develop in countries where it is logistically convenient to deliver goods from Ukraine, Zhydenko explained.
As reported, Aurora’s revenue for 2024 increased by 42.5% to UAH 38.5 billion (excluding VAT). In the first quarter of 2025, revenue grew by 32.5% to UAH 10.6 billion.
Aurora was founded in 2011 by Zhydenko, Taras Panasenko, and Lesya Klymenko. At the end of 2024, the chain had over 1,600 stores in Ukraine and 30 in Romania. The retail chain’s head office is located in Poltava.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vygidna Kupivlya LLC, which develops the chain, is the Cypriot company Avrorailt Investmens Limited, whose beneficiary is Zhydenko.
According to the OpenDataBot rating, the Aurora chain of stores has become the largest employer in the Poltava region, with 12,536 employees.
The company was founded in 2011. Its head office is located in Poltava. It operates fixed-price stores.
Financial indicators: the company is among the top ten retail chains in Ukraine according to the OpenDataBot Index. Over the past year, the number of employees has increased by 5.7%.
In the first quarter of 2025, Ukrainian one-dollar store chain Aurora (Vygidna Pokupka LLC) increased its revenue by 32.5% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 10.6 billion.
“We have summarized the results of Aurora Multimarket for the first quarter of 2025. The company’s revenue amounted to UAH 10.6 billion (UAH 12.7 billion including VAT). During this time, we have opened more than 70 new stores in Ukraine and Romania. We are constantly creating new jobs, our team is already more than 15.5 thousand people,” said Taras Panasenko, CEO of the chain, on Facebook on Wednesday.
As reported by the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers with reference to YouControl, in the first quarter of 2024, the retailer’s revenue amounted to UAH 8 billion, which is 55.2% more than in the same period in 2023.
According to Panasenko, in January-March of this year, the chain paid more than UAH 2.1 billion in taxes and fees to budgets of all levels, including UAH 210.9 million in personal income tax to local community budgets.
As reported, Aurora’s revenue in 2024 increased by 42.5% to UAH 38.5 billion (excluding VAT).
“Aurora was founded in 2011 by Lev Zhydenko, Taras Panasenko and Lesya Klymenko. As of the end of 2024, the chain had more than 1600 stores in Ukraine and 30 in Romania. The head office of the retail chain is located in Poltava.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vyhidna Kupilka LLC, which develops the chain, is Cyprus-based Auroritail Investments Limited, and its beneficiary is Zhydenko.
Ukrainian one-dollar store chain Aurora has opened 33 stores in the Romanian market in the first year since entering the market and generated about EUR10 million in revenue, said Taras Panasenko, CEO of the chain.
“For this year, we have a plan of EUR40 million in revenue in Romania, which means to grow four times,” he said at the Exporters Summit organized by Forbes Ukraine in Kyiv.
According to anInterfax-Ukraine correspondent, Panasenko added that the number of checks has reached 1 million, and 98% of buyers are local.
As reported, Aurora invested UAH 2.5 billion in the development of its network in Ukraine in 2024. Last year, the chain’s revenue increased by 42.5% to UAH 38.5 billion (excluding VAT).
“Aurora was founded in 2011 by Lev Zhidenko, Taras Panasenko and Lesya Klymenko. At the end of 2024, the chain had more than 1600 stores in Ukraine and 30 in Romania. The company employs about 14 thousand people. The retail chain is headquartered in Poltava.
According to Forbes, citing Panasenko, Aurora plans to open 340-350 new stores in Ukraine in 2025.
“We want to go public, but we are waiting for the right time for retail companies. Now, for example, Polish Żabka has launched an IPO, and it was successful. However, the main factor that will have a positive impact on our IPO is the end of martial law in Ukraine,” the CEO also said.
According to him, the company does not plan to enter new markets yet, but will focus on the development of Romanian stores. “But we are looking at Uzbekistan, Moldova, Bulgaria,” Forbes quoted Panasenko as saying.
