Forbes Ukraine has released the Next 250 for the second time, a list of 250 promising small and medium-sized companies. This time, only 15 companies out of 250 were representatives of retail or related industries.
Forbes Ukraine, in its new issue , presented the second list of 250 companies, the success of which will determine the shape of the country’s economy in 5-10 years. This year, the Forbes team selected the most promising companies from more than 700 companies. The goal of the project is to explore and show the country's entrepreneurship in all its diversity. The list included companies with annual revenue from UAH 10 million to UAH 1 billion. Some entrepreneurs asked not to be included in the list; the magazine took this into account. The Next 250 did not include companies that are members of financial and industrial groups, Ukrainian representative offices of international companies (or if a controlling stake in the company belongs to a foreign investor), state-owned companies, IT startups and financial companies.
RAU analyzed the Forbes Ukraine list and selected from the ranking those companies that are associated with retail trade or related industries. The nominees on the list are listed in alphabetical order. The * mark next to the revenue means that the data is from YouControl, ** – company data, *** – Forbes estimate.
Doberman Group
Founders: Victor and Svetlana Manushko, Alexander Berlev, Anna Dorosh
Revenue for 2023: UAH 50 million
City: Kiev
Importer and distributor of pet products. In 2023, he began producing hypoallergenic treats for dogs and cats under the Mavsy brand.
Cybernetics
Founders: Denis Savchenko, Sergey Potemkin
Revenue for 2023: UAH 589.4 million*
City: Kiev
The Kherson Cybernetics electronics network found itself under occupation during the Russian invasion in 2022. The city was left under shelling, recalls co-owner Denis Savchenko . 90% of the office has resumed work in Kyiv. Due to the loss of 20 stores in the occupied territories, the company began expansion into other areas. Cybernetics occupy the space of Vladimir Kostelman’s Ringoo network, which ceased to exist in the spring of 2024. The company currently has 55 stores. In July 2024, he opens the first space in Kyiv – in the Lavina Mall shopping center, where Cybernetics will occupy 1,300 sq. m. m of area of another network on the verge of bankruptcy – Eldorado. This will be the largest store in the chain; usually the area of a Cybernetics point is from 30 to 300 sq. m. m. Before this, the company entered mainly small cities with the concept of “service from large cities to small cities.”
Last year, Kherson residents managed to recover from a loss of UAH 28.3 million. and earn 14.8 million UAH. net profit. The co-founders are looking for their competitive advantage: they began active cooperation with the Banda agency. It is planned to enter the market with a new communication campaign in new regions and the capital.
Bookstore Є
Founders: Roman Tsuprik, Yulia Oleynik
Revenue for 2023: UAH 823.3 million*
City: Kiev
Bookstore chain. It became known as a place for cultural meetings – book presentations, round tables, literary readings, children's events.
Book lion
Founders: Ekaterina Ivanova, Alexander Ryabchuk
Revenue for 2023: UAH 10 million*
City of Lviv
Two bookstores operating in Kyiv and Lvov. The Kiev bookstore has a bar and a cafe.
Medtekhnika-Orthosalon Orto S mart
Founders: Svetlana Kuptsova
Revenue for 2023: UAH 117.6 million*
City: Dnepr
Retail network with 62 stores of medical and orthopedic goods.
Promislova Automation NV
Founders: Viktor Nedashkovsky
Revenue for 2023: UAH 17.7 million*
City: Kiev
Niche online store of industrial and thermal automation, fittings, frequency converters.
box express market
Founders: Gennady Cherevko
Revenue for 2023: UAH 396.9 million*
City: Kiev
The chain of convenience stores, founded in 2020, has more than 100 points in Kyiv and the region. The plans are to expand the network to 200 stores.
Fabo
Founders: Alina Kaprova, Luka Kaprov
Revenue for 2023: UAH 100 million*
City: Kharkov
Distributor and online retailer of cosmetics for beauty clinics, salons and online stores. Develops the Lavande brand.
Laifen
Founders: Iya Sermeeva
Revenue 2023: UAH 183.7 million*
City: Kiev
Exclusive representative of the hair dryer manufacturer Laifen in Ukraine.
Pethouse
Founders: Vladimir Kryzhanovsky, Vladimir Tarnopolsky
Revenue for 2023: UAH 730.8 million*
City: Kiev
Pethouse is one of the largest online pet stores in the Ukrainian segment, opened in 2010. It sells 9,000 products not only for cats and dogs, but also for reptiles, fish, birds and ferrets. In 2023, the market for pet products and services for animals in Ukraine grew by 27.3% to UAH 35.7 billion, Suzirya Group calculated. This is a big player in the offline market. In the online segment, the category according to their research grew by 10%. Pethouse is growing faster than the market. Over the three quarters of 2023, according to You Control, the company almost doubled its net income, reaching UAH 504 million. And profit increased 11 times, to 11.5 million UAH. According to the forecast of Suzirya Group, in 2024 the market driver will be online.
Prof1Group
Founders: Alexander Alexandrov
Revenue 2023: UAH 209.7 million*
City: Kiev
A chain of stores of military clothing, equipment and accessories, founded in 2000. There are retail outlets in Kyiv, Kharkov, Lvov and an online store.
Readeat
Founders: Dmitry Felixov
Revenue 2023: UAH 23.1 million*
City: Kiev
Bookstore and online store. There are two retail outlets in Kyiv: one with space for events, the second of a smaller area in a residential complex.
Stimma
Founders: Sergey Paraska, Suzanna Petegerich
Revenue 2023: UAH 300 million**
City: Khmelnitsky
Manufacturer of women's clothing. Its products can be purchased in more than 25 stores throughout Ukraine, as well as on the company’s website.
Vencon
Founders: Evgeny Matyuk, Vitaly Mironenko, Yuri Byshovets
Revenue 2023: UAH 157.2 million*
City: Kiev
Online store with engineering services. The company sells and installs air conditioners, boilers and hoods. It has retail outlets in Kyiv and Lvov.
Yuki
Founders: Alexander Los
Revenue 2023: UAH 77.8 million*
City: Chernigov
A chain of 15 stores with family goods, including clothing, shoes, toys, leisure and creative products. The assortment of the outlet includes an average of 25,000 items.
How did they think?
The editors selected companies for the final Next 250 list from a long list of 700 businesses (500 profiles, another 200 were proposed by the Forbes editors). The final list was formed by voting by the editorial board.
Forbes used the following criteria for evaluation:
- financial results;
- fast growth;
- product innovation;
- prospects for the market in which the company operates;
- export component;
- non-standard management or marketing decisions;
- inflexibility – companies that were damaged by hostilities but resumed operations.
