The ”Cheese Kingdom” chain of stores, which specializes in selling cheeses from around the world, has announced its closure.
‘For 13 years, we have served you and shared the finest flavors. Unfortunately, we are forced to close our stores,’ the chain’s website stated on Friday.
In June 2025, the chain’s office in Kyiv was completely destroyed by fire following a Russian ‘suicide attack.’
The chain’s stores comprise 48 teams and 250 employees across the country.
Source: https://cheesekingdom.com.ua/ua
Retail Expo 2026—the 10th annual Ukrainian retail congress—will take place on October 29–30. The event will bring together over 500 participants: owners and executives of retail chains, manufacturers, suppliers, technology companies, and industry experts. The program features over 50 speakers, practical case studies, panel discussions, and an exhibition area showcasing retail solutions.
How is consumer behavior changing?
What helps maintain sales, teams, and customer loyalty today?
Where can you find opportunities for efficiency when resources are limited and challenges are mounting?
These and other questions will form the basis of the Retail Expo 2026 program. The focus will be on market analytics and consumer trends, automation and technological transformation, sales, customer experience and service, labor shortages, team management, and partnerships. There will be a special emphasis on real-world case studies from Ukrainian companies that are finding solutions and continuing to grow despite all the challenges.
Retail Expo is not just about presentations on stage. It’s two days of lively conversation, new connections, professional discussions, and meetings with those who work every day to advance the Ukrainian retail sector.
Today, as businesses operate amid war, constant uncertainty, and new challenges, such gatherings are especially valuable. It’s important not to become isolated by our own problems, but to come together, speak openly, share experiences, and support one another—so we can find solutions, grow stronger, and move forward.
Retail Expo 2026 will take place on October 29–30. The event will be held in a shelter, which will allow the congress to continue even during air raid alerts.
The program, speakers, and registration are available on the Retail Expo 2026 website https://retailexpo.com.ua
Open4Business is an information partner.
The “Velmart” discount hypermarket chain has restructured its supply chains and increased the share of direct shipments from manufacturers to stores to 53%, its press service reported.
“As of September, deliveries to the chain cover more than 11,000 SKUs, supplied by over 570 partner suppliers. In September, the share of direct deliveries from manufacturers in the total value of goods received rose to about 53%, while in August this figure stood at 12%,” the chain’s press release states.
According to the report, local producers supply goods to their own regions without shipping them to a distribution center. This approach reduces the burden on interregional transportation routes and allows for faster delivery of goods to stores.
In addition, “Velmart” prioritizes the supply of everyday consumer goods: dairy products, deli items, meat, baked goods, groceries, vegetables, fruits, sugar, salt, and flour. If Ukrainian-produced goods are out of stock, the chain seeks alternatives manufactured in Poland or Romania.
The “Velmart” chain is part of the multi-brand holding company Retail Group. It has 34 stores in 18 cities across Ukraine. It develops 10 private-label brands and operates seven full-cycle production facilities: meat and fish products (chilled and smoked), prepared foods, baked goods, and confectionery.
The company is also expanding the Graan Café chain of modern food courts within “Velmart” supermarkets and its “Pukhnastye Sprawy” line of pet products.
According to data from the YouControl analytics system, based on 2025 results, Foodcom LLC, which operates the “Velmart” chain, increased its net revenue by 18.7% to 23.6 billion UAH and its net profit by a factor of 3.2 to 378.6 million UAH.
Retail Group JSC is listed as the owner of Foodcom LLC, with Roman Lunin as the ultimate beneficiary.
The “Podorozhnik” pharmacy chain (Lviv) has topped the ranking of the country’s pharmacy chains by number of locations and sales.
According to the publication “Apteka,” second in the ranking of the largest chains by number of locations is the “Apteka 9-1-1” chain (Kharkiv), which operates under the “9-1-1” and “Apteka Wholesale Prices” brands; in third place is “Apteka-Magnolia” LLC (Zaporizhzhia), known for the brands ANC, “Kopiyka,” “Shara,” and “Blagodiya”; in fourth place is “Sirius-95” LLC (Kyiv), which operates under the “We Wish You Health” brand; in fifth place is “Pharmastor” LLC (Kyiv, “Good Day Pharmacy”).
In terms of sales volume, “Apteka-Magnolia” ranks second in the top 5, third place goes to the “Apteka 9-1-1” chain, and fourth and fifth places are held by “Sirius-95” and “Farmastor” (“Bazhaemo Zdorov’ya” and “Apteka Dobrogo Dnya”).
The publication does not report the number of retail locations, but media outlets cite varying numbers depending on the calculation method.
As the “Podorozhnik” chain clarified to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, as of the end of August 2026, this pharmacy chain’s turnover reached 3.814 billion UAH, with approximately 2,400 retail locations.
According to the Serbian business media outlet Parametar, the Ukrainian chain of frozen prepared foods stores, Multi Cook, has launched operations in Serbia. The first store opened in Belgrade at Dunavska 2.
The chain’s founder, Volodymyr Matviychuk, announced the entry into the Serbian market.
“Serbia is our newest country on the Multi Cook map. Today, Multi Cook is much more than just a franchise. It is a global Ukrainian product,” the entrepreneur wrote.
The Multi Cook product line features frozen, home-style semi-prepared foods: varenyky, pelmeni, pancakes, syrniki, cutlets, stuffed cabbage rolls, and other ready-to-cook dishes.
Multi Cook was launched in 2022 and is linked to the history of the well-known Ukrainian chain “Galya Baluvana.” It was founded in Lutsk in 2018. Later, the co-owners began developing international projects independently: Matviychuk focused on Multi Cook, while Alla and Oleksandr Teliga focused on the Wesoła Pani brand.
In 2025, Matviychuk announced his departure from the “Galya Baluvana” brand and the further development of his own brands: Multi Cook, GABAR, and MultiBar.
Currently, Multi Cook has over 270 stores in Europe, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and other countries. Some locations operate under the MultiBar brand—in this format, customers can not only purchase products but also order ready-to-eat meals.
“Nova Poshta” has opened Nova Books—a specially designed book area in its branches featuring business literature for professional and personal development; the pilot program is currently operating at one of its Kyiv branches, the company’s press office reported.
According to the press release, books on economics and business are displayed in a separate showcase with a specially equipped self-service checkout counter. The Nova Books collection is based on business and economics literature selected based on recommendations from Nova Poshta’s Corporate University, as well as the company’s co-owners’ favorite books from their personal libraries.
“We are currently testing this format in Kyiv and are already seeing high demand: in just the first two days, customers purchased about 20 copies of business literature. Among the bestsellers are Donald Norman’s *The Design of Everyday Things* and James Clear’s *Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” by James Clear,” noted Ivan Bilokonny, head of the new product development department at Nova Poshta.
You can purchase your favorite book from the display or online by scanning its barcode on a tablet and paying for the purchase. The purchase takes place without involving clerks or waiting in line. The book service Megogo Books is a partner in the pilot project and is responsible for providing the product selection and distribution.
“Since Megogo Books began operations, we’ve been collaborating with Nova Poshta to bridge the gap between readers and books through fulfillment and fast delivery. For us, Nova Books is a logical extension of this collaboration in a new format and an opportunity to move beyond the digital space,” said Kateryna Kotvitska, Content Director at Megogo Books.
It is reported that Nova Books will soon begin operations at two more locations in Kyiv and will open at 10 locations in the capital by the end of the year, with plans to expand to other regions thereafter. Thanks to Nova Poshta’s extensive network, the project creates a new opportunity for customers and publishers: readers gain access to high-quality books just a short walk from home, while publishers gain a new, convenient distribution channel.
As previously reported, as of July 13, 2026, the company’s network comprised 54,700 service points: 16,800 branches and 37,900 parcel lockers throughout Ukraine.
Nova Poshta’s core business remains the express delivery of documents, parcels, and palletized bulky cargo.
