Epicentr Group continues to invest in the development of all business areas and plans to complete the construction of five shopping and entertainment centers in different regions of Ukraine and a logistics complex in Khmelnytsky by the end of 2024.
“This year, we are planning to build five shopping and entertainment centers and a large logistics complex in Khmelnytsky. The timing of commissioning of these facilities will depend on a number of factors, but the company plans to complete their implementation by the end of 2024,” Epicenter K CEO Petro Mykhailyshyn said in an interview with Property Times.
According to him, the first stage of the complex in Khmelnytskyi will amount to 57 thousand square meters, and further expansion to 80 thousand square meters is planned.
According to Mr. Mykhailyshyn, Epicenter’s current retail projects include more than 1.5 million square meters of new retail space and the creation of more than 16 thousand jobs. The company’s future plans include the construction of new shopping malls in Lviv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and other cities, as well as the reform of outdated facilities.
In addition, the company intends to invest in other business areas, including energy. For example, Epicenter intends to purchase 1-6 MW gas-piston power plants to power its businesses and later shopping centers. As Mykhailyshyn told Forbes Ukraine, the total capacity of the gas generators will be about 100 MW, and the estimated investment in the project is estimated at UAH 2.2 billion.
The Epicenter Group is an omnichannel ecosystem that unites the Epicenter and Nova Liniya retail chains, the epicentrk.ua online store, the Epicenter-Agro agricultural holding, the Epicenter Ceramic Corporation ceramic tile production plants, the Osmoloda woodworking plant, and logistics facilities.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Epicenter chain included more than 80 shopping centers in all regions of the country. The war destroyed seven shopping centers in Mariupol, Nikopol, Bucha, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kherson (two). Another three sites (in Melitopol, Kramatorsk and Kharkiv) are out of operation due to the occupation of Ukrainian territories, shelling or proximity to the war zone. As of June 5, the group’s retail network comprised 71 stores under the Epicenter and Nova Liniya brands.
Despite the significant losses, the retailer continues to invest in the economy: in 2022-2023, the company invested over UAH 14.2 billion in various projects. In general, the Epicenter Group’s investment plan until 2030 envisages the development of projects in retail, manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, e-commerce, and energy for a total of approximately UAH 100 billion.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the members of Epicenter K LLC are Oleksandr Gerega (51.3%), Halyna Gerega (47.97%), and Tetiana Surzhyk (0.73%).
In 2023, Epicenter Agro Holding, a member of the Epicenter K group of companies, began construction of a plant for the production of urea-ammonia mixture (UAN) and liquid complex fertilizers (LCF) in Vinnytsia region, according to the official website of the agricultural holding.
According to the report, the fertilizers are to be used during the 2024 sowing campaign.
“We have very ambitious goals for 2024. Changing the sowing structure, further testing of the No-till system, our own fertilizer production, and a number of other projects are just a small part of the challenges we have set for ourselves. In addition, we are confidently moving towards the introduction of processing of our products. This means that we firmly believe in ourselves as a team of professionals, our company Epicenter Agro, and the peaceful future of Ukraine,” said Svitlana Nikitiuk, Head of the Central Office of the Agricultural Department of Epicenter Agro.
Epicenter K LLC was established in 2003 and opened its first hypermarket in Kyiv in December of the same year. It has a network of shopping centers of the same name in Ukraine. It has also been developing its agricultural business since 2016. It cultivates more than 160 thousand hectares in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Kyiv regions. The group includes 20 livestock farms and 15 elevator complexes with a total storage capacity of 1.5 million tons.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the shareholders of Epicenter K LLC are Oleksandr Gerega (51.3%), Galyna Gerega (47.97%) and Tetiana Surzhyk (0.73%).
Epicenter K LLC (Kyiv) is introducing a new format of tile and sanitary ware salons in its shopping centers in Ukraine and by the end of 2020 it plans to open five new Ceramics Centers.
According to the press service of the company, the company has already opened seven Ceramics Center stores in the shop-in-shop format on the site of the former tile and sanitary ware salons in the reconstructed and recently built shopping centers Epicenter.
“The scaling of the new format continues: in August the eighth store Ceramics Center will open in Vinnytsia, and by the end of the year their number will increase to 12. Retail space in Lviv, Khmelnytsky and Kropyvnytsky is in the process of re-equipment,” the press release reads.
It is noted that about 80% of the tiles and sanitary ware of Ceramics Centers are of European brands imported by Epicenter K and their own brands, there are also ceramic tiles of Ukrainian production.
“It is sometimes difficult for buyers to imagine a complete picture of the future interior according to a single sample, therefore we present expositions in Ceramics Centers in almost the same way as at international exhibitions. For example, we glue large mosaics and tiles (60×60, 60×120, 1,200×2,400), the popularity of is which is growing rapidly, in bulk and demonstrate it on a larger area,” Yulia Korsun, the head of the Ceramic Tile department, said.
The Epicenter K company (Kyiv), which is developing a network of shopping centers of the same name and agricultural direction in Ukraine, has received a loan in the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International AG in the amount of EUR 5.3 million for the development of e-commerce, in particular, the opening of a fulfillment center, the press service of the company said.
“The Austrian bank Raiffeisen Bank International AG will finance the purchase of equipment for the Epicenter K fulfillment center from the Dutch manufacturer Vanderlande Industries B.V.,” the statement reads.
The opening of an innovative fulfillment center will provide a high level of service to online buyers, according to the company.
According to it, the credit line in the amount of EUR 5.309 million is open for five years, the interest rate is set at the six-month rate of EURIBOR plus margin. Insurance coverage is provided by the Dutch government guarantee issued by Atradius Dutch State Business N.V.
The authorized capital of Epicenter K LLC is UAH 158.6 million.
Epicenter K LLC was established in 2003. According to the unified public register of legal entities and private entrepreneurs, the participants in Epicenter K LLC are Oleksandr Hereha (51.3%), Halyna Hereha (47.9%) and Tetiana Surzhyk (0.73%).
EPICENTER KThe Epicenter K Group, developing the agricultural business since 2016, after the acquisition of Khmelnytsk-Agro from Svarog West Group will boost its total land bank by 40,000 ha, to 160,000 ha. According to the company’s press release issued on Wednesday, the process is currently underway. Khmelnytsk-Agro develops the crop and livestock segments in Khmelnytsky region. It consists of a granary and a seed plant.
Epicenter K plans to create two more clusters in its structure, on the lands of which will be grown both traditional crops – wheat, sunflower, corn and rapeseed, as well as niche crops – bare pumpkin, and organic crops and seeds for irrigation will also be planted.
Epicenter K seeks to renegotiate land lease contracts with shareholders of Khmelnytsk-Agro LLC under the best conditions, after which they will receive social guarantees from Epicenter K.
As reported, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted permission to acquire the company on February 6.
Epicenter K LLC (Kyiv), which is developing a network of eponymous shopping centers in Ukraine, plans to open 15 new Furniture Centers (Tsentr Mebliv) in its shopping centers in 2020, begin entering external sites and strengthen online sales. “The goal of the company is to increase its stake to 40% by the end of 2020. These plans are related to the new concept for the development of Furniture Centers. Thus, the Epicenter furniture business will significantly expand its assortment, improve client services, and will focus on turnkey solutions, in particular customers will be offered design interiors in different styles and budgets,” the company’s press service said.
According to the report, in 2019 the share of Furniture Centers in the Ukrainian market grew to 25%. During this time, ten new concept stores were opened in the Epicenter chain.
“In the new concept, much attention will be paid to inexpensive functional furniture of modern design that are interesting to young people,” Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, the director of the Tsentr Mebliv direction, said.
According to him, the company also relies on online sales.
“I’m sure that in the future online will be another growth point for us, because there we can present a much wider assortment, not limited by the length of the shelf in an offline store,” he said.
In particular, in 2019, the share of online furniture sales in the Epicenter network was 10%, the largest demand in online sales was recorded for kitchens.
