Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

“Aurora” plans to open 400 new stores

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.

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Aurora to become first tenant of M10 Lviv Industrial Park

Ukraine’s largest one dollar store chain, Aurora, will become the first tenant of M10 Lviv Industrial Park (347 Shevchenko St.), the press service of Lviv City Council reports.

As reported, in February 2024, the developer of the industrial park, Dragon Capital, commissioned the first phase of M10 Lviv Industrial Park, a Class A warehouse complex with an area of 14.4 thousand square meters.

The further development of the M10 Industrial Park project envisages the construction of warehouse complexes in the build-to-suit format (design and construction of a facility for a customer).

“We are currently negotiating with several potential participants. These are representatives of Ukrainian business, manufacturing companies looking to expand or relocate their business. As for the format of cooperation (sale or lease), it depends on the needs and situation of a particular company,” Mykhailo Sakun, Dragon Capital’s investment director, told Interfax-Ukraine.

M10 Lviv Industrial Park is a new industrial park located in the Ryasne-2 industrial zone of Lviv, on the M10 highway, 60 km from the Krakovets checkpoint on the border with Poland. The territory of the park covers an area of 23.5 hectares and consists of six plots planned for warehousing and production facilities with a total area of 140 thousand square meters. Dragon Capital Property Management, the company’s own management company, provides centralized maintenance of infrastructure facilities and security for the park. The facilities are certified according to BREEAM international green building standards.

In 2023, the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD) has already invested $5.5 million in the project, and its total investment in M10 Lviv Industrial Park will be up to $24.5 million. The World Bank’s International Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has also insured the project against military risks for 10 years for an investment of $9.2 million.

The head office of the Aurora retail chain is located in Poltava. “Aurora was founded in 2011 by Lev Zhydenko, Taras Panasenko, and Lesia Klymenko.

According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vygidna Kupilka LLC, which develops the chain, is listed as Cyprus-based Auroritel Investments Limited, with Zhydenko as its beneficiary. The Cypriot company also owns Prior Development LLC, Seven A LLC, Promyslova 9 LLC, and Tak LLC.

Dragon Capital is one of the largest groups of companies in Ukraine operating in the field of investment and financial services and providing a full range of investment banking and brokerage services, private equity, asset management to institutional, corporate and private clients. The company has more than 20 years of successful experience in direct investments in leading manufacturers of goods and service providers in Ukraine, as well as in landmark residential and commercial real estate projects.

Dragon Capital Property Management is the management team that manages the company’s commercial real estate portfolio. It manages 28 properties (business centers, shopping malls and logistics centers) with a total area of 647 thousand square meters.

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