The war in Ukraine hit its one-year milestone on 24 February, with the country still counting the cost of the Russian invasion.
As new data from the Retail Association of Ukraine (RAU) has shown, the country's retail landscape has been significantly altered by the conflict, with most chains seeing a reduction in the number of stores they operate across the country.
Major Grocers
According to RAU data, ATB-Market, the country's biggest grocer by store count had 1,320 stores on 24 February 2022, the day that the war started, a number that has been reduced to 1,167 as of the start of this month (1 February).
Another major grocer, Silpo, has seen its store count reduced from 329 to 303 in the same period, while the Econom chain, which mainly operated stores in the Zaporizhzhia region and the capital region, has seen its store count reduce from 103 to 65.
At the same time, some chains have been able to grow their network – the Tavria V chain grew its store count from 121 to 126, while Myasomarket, which operates as a franchise business, has increased its store count from 180 to 239.
Read More: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine 'A War On Food', Says EU Commissioner
Regional Impact
In the east of the country, where the hostilities have been fiercest, the war has had a significant impact on most operators – ATB lost 13 stores in the Luhansk region, as well as 57 in Donetsk.
Silpo has lost three stores in Luhansk and nine in Donetsk. Only Myasomarket has retained its presence in the Donetsk region, where three stores continue to operate.
Similarly, in the south, which has also been impacted severely, ATB lost 65 stores in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, while Silpo lost 11 and Myasomarket lost 12. In the Zaporizhzhia region alone, the Econom chain lost 39 stores.
The greatest concentration of stores in Ukraine is located in the region around the capital, Kyiv, where 253 ATB stores and 122 Silpo stores are located – a number that is only slightly down on last year.
Read the RAU's full overview of the current state of Ukraine's retail network here.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
