Makeup invests UAH 2 million in postal machines: how they will change the delivery infrastructure
23 October 2025 22:34
Makeup, the largest online cosmetics retailer in Ukraine, has launched its own network of post offices and announced its scale-up by 2026. This was announced in an interview with Forbes Ukraine by Makeup’s PR&Marketing Director Olha Kuznetsova, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The company invested more than UAH 2 million in the first stage of the project, and in October 2025, 20 post offices were launched in Kyiv. The approximate cost of one device is UAH 100 thousand. It includes development, production, software, and integration with logistics. The post offices are located in residential areas near supermarkets, cafes, and other daily routes of the city’s residents.
Why retailers invest in their own delivery
For a pure online player, controlling the last mile means speed, predictability, and fewer reputational risks.
“Our own post offices give us control – we are responsible for the parcel from packaging to receipt,” explains Kuznetsova.
If you rely exclusively on external partners , “any failure can affect your reputation,” adds Taras Gerega, director of post office development at Epicenter.
A global trend or why post offices are winning
The demand for delivery to post offices is not a local phenomenon.
The trend for delivery to post offices is growing globally and will only accelerate,” says Artur Kudelin, director of the post office department at Nova Poshta.
“For customers, it means fast delivery without waiting for a courier, and for businesses, it means lower costs and faster service. The advantages of the infrastructure are 24/7 operation and autonomy. After all, most devices run on batteries or solar panels and do not require daily maintenance.
Read also: “Ukrposhta launches its own network of post offices: autonomous, Ukrainian and ready for outages
The economics of post offices: density and occupancy
The financial model of post offices works when there is a dense network and high cell utilization.
It is important that the cells are filled – if most sections are empty, expenses exceed income,” says Gerega.
According to him, in the long run, postal machines form the predictable cost of the “last mile”.
Kudelin adds that the growth of the network and the duration of operation reduce the cost within the first three years. Thus, Nova Poshta has more than 30,000 post offices and will invest up to UAH 1 billion in their development by the end of the year. The company expects the optimal cost in 2026.
Competitive landscape in the Ukrainian logistics market
Not only logistics companies are developing their own networks: “Epicenter has already deployed more than 1,600 post offices (according to the retailer), and Rozetka is expanding its self-service outlets. And on October 14, Ukrposhta announced the launch of the first hundred post offices in Kyiv and Odesa by the end of the year.
Post offices are also a marketing tool: “it increases brand awareness in the public space,” says Gerega, and a platform for the rapid introduction of services such as contactless delivery or smart interfaces.
Why it’s important for Makeup
Its own network will help Makeup strengthen its position in the competition with the largest dropshipping network Eva, which launched a marketplace in 2024 and reached 33 million visits in the first six months of 2025 (Elit-Web). Makeup had 44 million visits in the same period.
“Eva.ua has significantly strengthened its position and is gradually approaching the level of Makeup sales in the beauty segment,” says Olena Annenko, Director of E-Commerce at Eva and Eva.ua.
According to her, Eva delivers 72% of its orders through its own channels, more than 1,100 delivery points operate as a main delivery method, and courier logistics operates in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa, and Kharkiv. The share of e-commerce in the network’s revenue exceeded 15% in the first nine months of 2025, with a target of 20%.
Scaling strategy: where new post offices will appear
Makeup plans to deploy a network of post offices throughout Ukraine in 2025-2026. The priority is regional centers and large cities where the retailer’s active audience is concentrated.
The goal is to create a beauty infrastructure,” Kuznetsova says.
“The location strategy is ‘close to home’: residential areas, shopping malls, supermarkets, and transportation hubs. This density should reduce the “last mile radius”, increase the conversion of orders into delivery, and reduce the load on courier routes.
Makeup scales up its network: what it means for the market
1. For consumers: a wider choice of delivery channels, faster delivery without being tied to a courier’s visit, 24/7 availability in familiar places.
2. For retailers: lower variable cost of the “last mile” due to standardization of processes, fewer refusals and returns due to the convenience of delivery, better control of SLA.
3. For logistics operators: increased competition at the last mile, an incentive for smart integrations (single tracking window, omnichannel notifications, postage at the post office), development of energy-autonomous solutions.
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The success of the model depends on the coverage density and occupancy rate. Low volumes in certain areas can eat into savings. Other important factors include software stability, cybersecurity, vandal-resistant design, energy autonomy, and fast service in case of failures. On the competitive field, players with large networks (Nova Poshta, Epicenter) already have economies of scale and lower costs, so Makeup will have to aggressively increase density and integrate with their own purchase scenarios (pre-orders, trial kits, smart returns).
Makeup’s launch of its own post offices is a logical step in vertical integration in beauty e-commerce and a response to the increased competition from Eva and large multi-category retailers. If the company is able to quickly build a dense network and maintain high utilization rates, post offices will become the core of a predictable and cheaper “last mile”.
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