Ukraine’s Largest Retailer Buys Huge Warehouse Destroyed During Russian Invasion

Avrora, Ukraine's largest retailer with branches of its one-dollar stores throughout Ukraine and Romania, has secured a deal to buy a warehouse with offices and adjoining land near the village of Stoyanka, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Kyiv. 

The deal was signed with one of Ukraine’s major investment companies, Dragon Capital who took on the premises from the previous owners after they were burned during Russia’s invasion of the Kyiv region in 2022. 

Avrora bought the property to support its logistics and procurement activities in Kyiv and the region. 

Dragon Capital and Avrora already have cooperated previously: the retailer leases the first row in the M10 industrial park in Lviv. It was the first project to get war insurance from the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), after the 2022 invasion. 

The Stoyanka warehouse will come back to life

“Vyhidna Pukipka” LLC, the parent company’s legal name, which operates 1,425 Avrora one-dollar stores around Ukraine and Romania, is obtaining the former West End Logistics warehouse premises. 

The deal includes land of 14.42 hectares (35.6 acres), 7,000 square meters (75,350 square feet) of refurbished offices and warehouses, which were occupied by beauty store retailer Watsons and the private postal service Nova Post, as well as the 97,175 square meters (1.05 million square feet) of severely damaged premises which Avrora will restore.

Other Topics of Interest

Why a Decentralized Grid Is Key to Ukraine’s Efforts to Rebuild

As Ukraine prepares for another winter under Russian attack, it is shoring up its energy capacity by making a “strategic shift” toward distributed energy resources.

Taras Panasenko, co-founder and CEO of the Aurora, said that they are planning to restore the rest of the premises, according to Dragon Capital press release: 

“We plan to restore the destroyed warehouse in two stages. In the first stage, we are preparing to restore approximately 45,000 square meters (484,000 square feet) with built-in storage facilities by the end of 2025. We plan to complete the second stage by the end of 2026, after which another 45,000 square meters (484,000 square feet) will be ready for work."

The company decided to invest in a burnt warehouse since it will be more financially efficient than building a new one from scratch. 

“We see symbolism in this step: the restoration of the complex, which suffered during the war, will become a symbol of revival and stability," Panasenko added. 

Ukraine’s Arzinger law firm provided the legal management of the deal. 

What is Avrora? 

Avrora’s Ukrainian one-dollar store network has 1,400 stores in Ukraine and 25 in Romania. It also has five logistics facilities: three distribution centers and two sorting hubs, including its warehouse complex in Lviv. 

The retailer's turnover in 2023 amounted to Hr.26.9 billion ($707.89 million). The company is expanding in Ukraine, with first-half growth in 2024 at an estimated 46.7 percent, according to Youcontrol data. 

Avrora wants to increase the number of stores to 2,500 by 2026 and is intending to expand its business to Moldova and the Balkan countries, Panasenko told Forbes Ukraine.