Business

Since the beginning of the year, 512 stores have opened in Ukraine – research

As of April 2025, there were 23,490 retail outlets in Ukraine in the main retail sectors. This was reported by the Association with reference to the results of a survey conducted among 115 member companies of the Ukrainian Retailers Association, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.

In January-March 2025, 512 stores were opened and 144 were closed for various reasons. Accordingly, the increase amounted to 368 retail facilities.

Traditionally, the largest number of stores is concentrated in Kyiv and the region – 5,513. Dnipropetrovska, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions are also among the five regions with the most developed retail sector. Overall, the dynamics of chain development is positive. Only Donetsk and Kherson regions recorded a decrease in the number of outlets.

Food retail

The food retail segment accounts for one fifth (22%) of the total number of retail outlets, namely 5182 stores.

In the first three months of this year, 80 outlets were opened, but this growth was “halved” by the closure of 40 stores for various reasons. Most new stores were opened in Kyiv, Lviv and Kirovograd region.

Among food retailers, Sim23, as well as Fine Market and ATB, have opened the most stores since the beginning of the year.

The average sales area of new stores is 150-250 square meters, but, as the Retailers Association emphasizes, the main focus is not on meters, but on the efficiency of space and traffic flow.

The chain is expanding both in big cities and smaller towns. The locations are selected within a radius of 250 km from the company’s logistics center, which ensures stable supply and prompt response to the needs of the stores.

Non-food retail

Non-food retail has a comparable share in the total number of outlets in all eight segments – 17%, or 3,900 stores.

The largest number of stores in this segment was opened by Aurora (71 outlets), Eva (12) and Blisk, a Vinnytsia-based chain of stores originally known as Shik and Blisk (11).

Appliances and electronics stores

In March 2025, there were 1,913 hardware and electronics stores in Ukraine. In three months, only 21 new stores were opened, and 24 were closed.

The decline was recorded in four of the five regions with the highest concentration of this type of retail. Only Lviv showed an increase. The share of this retail segment does not exceed 8% of the total number of stores.

Fashion retail

The clothing, footwear and accessories retail sector is represented by 876 stores. This is 63 more outlets than at the beginning of the year, given that 67 new stores account for only 4 closed ones. This indicates the recovery of this retail sector, which suffered quite significantly at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The highest concentration of fashion retailers is observed in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk. The largest increase in the number of stores was recorded in the capital, Odesa region and Zhytomyr region.

The undisputed leader in terms of the number of openings is Sinsay, which has launched 51 new outlets in most regions of the country in just three months of this year. We can also highlight the Sezon chain of stores, which has added 8 more outlets to its network and now has 45 stores.

Jewelry retail

According to the Retailers Association, the jewelry trade, which suffered the most from the Russian invasion, is recovering quite well.

As of March 2025, there were already 899 outlets in operation. In three months, 19 stores were added, but 10 closed. Odesa, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk have seen more outlets. Among the most active players, there are three chains: Love you, SOVA, and Pandora. The first two opened five stores each, and Pandora opened four.

Fuel retail

Fuel station chains in Ukraine have almost stopped their development, reaching the level of 1,813 filling stations as of March this year. This is only one more filling station than in 2024, taking into account the closure of three and opening of four new filling stations.

Kyiv region is in the first place in terms of concentration of filling stations, ahead of Lviv and Dnipro: 330 vs. 199 and 159 filling stations, respectively.

The top five regions with the highest concentration of filling stations also include Odesa and Zakarpattia regions with 149 and 99 filling stations respectively.

Trade in building materials

There were almost no new openings in this segment. Thus, as of January-March 2025, 142 stores were operating. And only one retail outlet has been added in the capital since then. This type of retail is concentrated in the capital region, where there are 36 stores, which is twice as many as in Lviv region (18).

However, the western regions of the country are currently dominated by the concentration of outlets. In addition to Lviv region, these are Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne regions.