Main points
- Turkish chain SuperStep is closing all stores in Ukraine, as part of a global business transformation.
- Other brands of the group, such as Lacoste, continue to operate in Ukraine without changes.
A well-known Turkish network suddenly leaves Ukraine / ucsc.org.ua
Turkish multi-brand footwear chain SuperStep has decided to completely close its offline presence in Ukraine. The company plans to close all stores during May-June.
Why are SuperStep stores closing in Ukraine?
Zafer Ozbay, CEO of Eren Retail Group in Ukraine, says that the decision is not directly related to the Ukrainian market, but is part of the global business transformation, RAU writes.
We have decided to optimize our business model and reallocate resources to those areas where we see higher long-term efficiency and better alignment with our global priorities. Ukraine remains an important market for us, and this step should be viewed as an optimization of our global operations, rather than an indicator of market potential,
– says Zafer Ozbai.
At the same time, other brands of the group remain operational. In particular, the Lacoste chain continues its activities without changes – as of the end of April, 12 stores are operating in Ukraine.
What does this mean for buyers?
- reduction of multi-brand formats;
- more mono-brand stores;
- expansion of online shopping.
When did SuperStep appear in Ukraine?
The SuperStep brand entered the Ukrainian market back in 2015, opening its first store in the Sky Mall shopping mall in Kyiv. Within a few years, the chain expanded to several cities.
Even after the start of a full-scale war, the company continued to open new points: in Lviv, Kyiv, and Dnipro. The last format updates took place in 2025.
As of spring 2026, six stores were operating in Ukraine: in the Lavina Mall, Dream Town, Forum Lviv, Victoria Gardens, Riviera Shopping City, and Karavan shopping centers. The company also has an online store.
After the chain's exit, other players are already starting to occupy the retail space. For example, in the Respublika Park shopping mall, a Puma store with a new Field of Play concept has opened instead of SuperStep. And in the Gulliver shopping mall, New Balance is claiming the chain's place.
Note! The exit of SuperStep is not a signal of a “market collapse”, but another proof of its transformation. Ukrainian retail is adapting: old formats are disappearing, and new concepts and players are taking their place.
How is retail developing in Ukraine?
In 2023, retail sales approached pre-war levels, fully recovering after the drop in 2022. According to analysts, this means that the retail market has adapted to wartime conditions and has become one of the most successful industries in Ukraine, Delo.ua writes.
As noted by NAI Ukraine CEO Vitaly Boyko, Ukraine's retail turnover not only in hryvnias, but also in dollars almost (with a difference of 5%) repeated the result of 2021, which broke consumption records at that time.
The growth in trade turnover is primarily due to international aid – $40 billion was spent on guaranteed payment of social expenses. And all the resources of the Ukrainian budget, which went to the needs of the army, also affected the salary of a serviceman, which increased by 5-10 times. Thus, the families of servicemen became additional buyers who came to the retail market,
– the expert emphasized.
According to him, compared to 2021, an additional $20 billion appeared on the Ukrainian retail market in 2023 – this is international aid minus the budget taken abroad by millions of Ukrainian refugees.
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Every fifth businessman in Ukraine receives an income of 10 million hryvnias per year – that's 74 thousand entrepreneurs. The top three richest by income in 2025 were Rinat Akhmetov, Vitaliy Antonov and Andriy Verevsky.