Main points
- Zara terminated lease agreements with shopping centers in one of the cities of Ukraine due to security risks.
- Zara's exit from the Ukrainian market does not have a significant impact on shopping centers, as other tenants have already occupied their space.
Zara is closing in Dnipro / Photo Unsplash
The Spanish retailer is gradually exiting the Ukrainian market, although a complete closure of the brand is not expected. At the same time, even such a scenario would not be a significant blow for Ukraine.
Why is Zara leaving the Ukrainian market?
Maksym Gavryushin, operations director of Budhouse Group and chairman of the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, told the EP about the region in which the stores will no longer operate.
Thus, it is reported that the Zara brand terminated lease agreements with a shopping center in Dnipro due to security risks .
It is also known that the brand is not terminating contracts only in Kharkiv. The reason is that stores have recently opened in the city, in particular, the Nikolsky shopping mall.
At the same time, no significant impact on the work of Ukrainian shopping centers due to the retailer's exit is predicted. As Havryushin notes, most of the space in the shopping center is not empty, because Zara left the market at the beginning of the full-scale war, so other tenants took the corresponding “plots”.
The head of the council of shopping centers also adds that a Ukrainian manufacturer does not need huge spaces. More often, these are small stores.
Note ! The most popular area for Ukrainian brands is 100-150 square meters, and the size of Zara is over 2 thousand square meters.
Gavryushin emphasized that the main problem for Ukrainian shopping centers is adaptation in difficult conditions related to energy.
In general, the operation of shopping malls may be affected by long-term power supply problems, for example, throughout the year and next winter, if the industry does not find ways to ensure full operation during such outages in the future,
– says Gavryushin.
What is known about the operation of Zara stores during the war?
In 2024, after a two-year pause, Inditex (owner of Zara, Bershka, Massimo Dutti) returned to the Ukrainian market, and offline shopping is now no less than online.
Alesya Karnaukhova wrote for NV that the return of big brands to Ukraine indicates trust in our market.
It's easier to grow your business if you have your own car that matches your lifestyle. Yes, the best-selling Škoda Octavia is a balance of comfort and functionality. Nothing superfluous, only the best solutions to make your daily business routine easier. Matrix headlights, wireless phone connection, Front Assist and Cruise Control, three-zone air conditioning and driving mode selection are far from a complete list of “chips” that will allow you to enjoy every trip.
What else is known about the brand's exit from Ukraine?
It was recently reported that despite the termination of contracts in Dnipro, Odesa and Kharkiv remain under question. The stores there are actually not operating, although the owners are paying rent.
Meanwhile, Zara, along with other global brands, has been applying for trademark registration in Russia. Local media reported that a number of brands will return to the country.