Cypriot Dealbeta Investments Limited, created by Emerging Europe Growth Fund III (EEGF III) private equity fund managed by Horizon Capital, intends to gain control over the Cypriot company Avroretail Investments Limited, the owner of the Avrora social store network.
According to the website of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), the relevant issue was included in the agenda of the commission’s meeting on June 24.
According to the report, Dealbeta Investments has already entered into a shareholder agreement with the citizens of Ukraine and Avroretail Investments, which contains provisions on concerted actions and restrictive obligations for a period of five years.
According to the state register, Avroretail Investments, registered in March of this year, in April became the owner of Prior Investments LLC (Scherbany village, Poltava region) with Seven A LLC (Poltava) instead of the co-owner of the Avrora chain, Poltava businessman Lev Zhidenko, and Vyhidna Pokupka LLC (Poltava) instead of Zhidenko (who owned 33.74%), Taras Panasenko (56.75%) and Lesia Klymenko (9.49%). Promyslova 9 LLC (Vinnytsia), which belonged to Zhidenko and Panasenko on a parity basis, was also registered for Avroretail.
Vyhidna Pokupka LLC (until May of this year – Lafesta) last year increased its revenue 2.4 times, to UAH 1.011 billion, and net profit – 2.2 times, to UAH 55.9 million.
According to the information on the website of the Avrora chain, its stores operate in almost all regions of Ukraine in the One Dollar Store format.
Decathlon Ukraine in June will open a store in the Riviera shopping center (Odesa) with an area of about 3,000 square meters, director general of the company Florent Guieu said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
“We are opening in the Riviera shopping and entertainment center in Odesa in June. There are about 3,000 square meters. Today it will be the largest store in the chain in Ukraine,” he said.
According to him, Decathlon Ukraine intends to open stores in all major cities. Locations in Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, as well as two or three sites in the capital are being actively discussed. We are considering premises with an area of 2,000-3,000 square meters in locations with good transport links.
“Our requirements for the capital involve location not far from the metro. At the same time, we are extremely attentive to the quality of the project and the quality of the partner – our values must coincide,” Guieu explained.
According to him, at least two more Decathlon Ukraine stores will be opened next year. “But I will want to open all four. We also have many projects at the concept stage,” he added.
Swedish retailer H&M will open its first store in Kharkiv in May 2021 in new Nikolsky shopping mall, expanding its chain in Ukraine to six outlets, the retailer’s press service said.
The total area of the store is 2,100 square meters, of which about 1,700 square meters are shopping area. This is the sixth store of the chain in Ukraine and the first outside the Ukrainian capital.
“We see a high interest in the H&M brand in the regions and therefore are pleased to announce the opening of a store in Nikolsky shopping center in Kharkiv. I am sure that Kharkiv residents will appreciate both a wide range of goods and a modern store concept,” H&M Ukraine CEO Dominik Fantachino said.
According to H&M, the space of the store will differ from other stores of the chain in Ukraine with an updated interior concept. Buyers can expect a wide range of women’s, men’s, teenage and children’s clothing.
French sportswear brand Decathlon, part of the international Auchan Group, will open a new store in the Prospekt shopping and entertainment complex in the spring of 2021, expanding its network in Ukraine to three stores.
“Another bright opening of a new tenant, the French brand Decathlon, is planned in Prospekt shopping mall scheduled for the spring of 2021. This will be the first Decathlon residence on the left bank of Kyiv,” the Arricano company said in a press release.
According to the press release, the area of the new store will be about 2,000 square meters.
The first Decathlon outlet with an area of 2,500 square meters was located in phase one of Retail Park Petrivka in March 2019. The construction of the store lasted four months, the investment amounted to EUR 1 million. The second store, with an area of 3,000 square meters, was opened in November 2019 near the Lavina Mall.
In addition, Decathlon has launched an online store, and delivery is available to all regions of Ukraine. The Decathlon Drive service also operates in the store located in Berkovetska Street.
The first Decathlon store opened in 1976 in France. The brand currently has more than 1.5 stores in 56 countries. Some 99% of the products in the chain’s stores are products of their own brands.
The distribution chain UkrAgro NPK and Nika-Tera sea terminal (Mykolaiv), both are parts of Group DF, have jointly opened the first agricultural supermarket – a wholesale and retail warehouse store of agricultural products in the territory of the port.
Group DF said in a press release on Friday, July 31, that the outlet is fully equipped for reception, storage, packing and shipment of goods. Its targeted audience includes customers of the port and farmers from Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
“At the beginning, the assortment of products includes various types of nitrogenous and mixed fertilizers that fit various types of package. We plan to gradually extend the assortment by seeds, plant protection agents, and other chemicals. In future we will sell other goods and services that are necessary for farmers, agricultural producers, traders,” Director General of UkrAgro NPK Volodymyr Dovbnia said.
The new outlet de jure is an official representative office of PJSC UkrAgro NPK.
UkrAgro NPK is a large chain of warehouses selling mineral fertilizers in Ukraine. It has been a part of Group DF since 2012.
The Swedish Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the owner of Europe’s second largest clothing store chain, plans to open its fourth retail outlet in Ukraine on June 11 – the largest H&M store in the Ukrainian chain will be located in the Dream Town shopping and entertainment center, the press service of the shopping center said last week.
“On June 11, we will open a new store of the Swedish H&M chain, which will be the largest in Ukraine. So there will be a place for all departments: H&M Sport, H&M Mama, H&M +, LOGG and of course the big H&M Home,” Dream Town Director Yemets quoted in a message.
This will be the first H&M opening in Ukraine this year.
As reported, on September 12, 2019, H&M opened a store in the River Mall at 12, Dniprovska Naberezhna Street in the Darnytsky district of Kyiv, expanding the Ukrainian retail network to three stores. Its area was 2,900 square meters.
The Swedish retailer H&M entered the Ukrainian market in 2018, opening the first store with an area of 2,900 square meters in the Lavina Mall shopping center. The second brand store opened in October 2018 in the Sky Mall.
