Optimization During the War: Why “Auchan Ukraine” Is Closing a Hypermarket and What Its Losses Are
21 July 16:26
ANALYSIS FROM 
The closure of the “Auchan” hypermarket on Velyka Kiltseva Street in Kyiv is not just a local change on the retail map. It is more likely the result of a deep financial crisis that the company has been facing for four consecutive years. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, the chain’s cumulative net losses exceeded 3.59 billion hryvnias, and closing large-format stores became a logical step for the business to survive. "Komersant Ukrainian" conducted a detailed analysis of the company’s financial indicators using data from the OpenDataBot database.
Billions in the Red and a 50% Downsize
The steady decline in revenue partly explains why it is difficult for the retail sector to sustain unprofitable giants. After a profitable 2021 (14.49 billion hryvnia in revenue and 193.1 million hryvnia in profit), the business took a sharp downturn. In 2022, revenue plummeted to 10.69 billion UAH, resulting in a loss of 1.26 billion UAH. The situation did not improve in subsequent years: in 2024, the company recorded a loss of 579.7 million UAH, and by the end of 2025, it posted an additional loss of 835.97 million UAH on revenue of 10.03 billion UAH.
In the first quarter of this year alone, Auchan’s net loss had already reached 146.28 million hryvnias on revenue of 2.34 billion hryvnias.
The drop in revenue forced the company to carry out large-scale staff cuts. Over four years, the number of employees has nearly halved—from 5,539 people in 2021 to 2,766 employees in the first quarter of 2026.
Who is keeping the chain afloat?
In its current state, “Auchan Ukraine” is effectively unviable without regular financial injections from its parent company. As of early 2026, the retailer’s current liabilities total 3.87 billion UAH, while its assets amount to only 2.71 billion UAH, and its liquidity ratio hovers at a critical level of 0.44.
The only thing saving the business from bankruptcy is the willingness of its French owners to continuously increase the authorized capital of the Ukrainian subsidiary (over the past two years, it has been raised from 3.57 billion UAH to over 5.06 billion UAH).
OpenDataBot’s conservative forecast for all of 2026 predicts a further 4.99% decline in revenue (to 9.53 billion UAH). Under these conditions, abandoning large retail spaces in favor of smaller formats, such as Ultra Proxy, and retaining staff by transferring them to other stores is the only realistic strategy for the French giant to avoid a complete exit from the Ukrainian market.
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The Cost of Air Raid Alerts and Conflicts with Partners
One of the main factors dragging the retailer down has been its own security policy. Unlike many competitors, Auchan strictly closes its sales floors during air raid alerts. As a result, in 2025 alone, the chain collectively experienced 4,000 hours of forced downtime. This represents not only colossal real-time revenue losses but also a constant source of conflict with business partners.
“Not all business partners agree with our decision to close during air raid alerts, which is why we are currently engaged in difficult negotiations at certain locations regarding the continuation of our cooperation,” noted the company’s CEO.
It was precisely the inability to reach a compromise on operating conditions during the war and the renewal of the lease agreement on Kiltseva Street that ultimately led to the closure of the hypermarket there.
Eldorado’s Debts: The “Auchan” Chain Is Seeking to Recover Funds Through the Courts
At the same time, the French retailer “Auchan Ukraine” is among dozens of creditors attempting to collect debts from “Diesa”—the owner of the “Eldorado” home appliance store chain. However, the hearing on the debtor’s bankruptcy case has been postponed again.
This became known from a ruling by the Kyiv Commercial Court dated July 13, 2026, in case No. 910/12677/23.
The bankruptcy case against “Diesa” LLC (the legal entity behind “Eldorado”) has been ongoing since 2023. The court has already initiated proceedings to dispose of the debtor’s assets, imposed a moratorium on debt payments, and the initial claims of just one of the main initiators of the proceedings (Limeks Express Kyiv, a private enterprise) have already exceeded 42.3 million hryvnias.
For “Auchan,” which often acts as a landlord for home appliance stores in its shopping centers or as a provider of related services, its partner’s debt has become grounds for filing a lawsuit. The company “Auchan Ukraine Hypermarket” LLC has officially filed a claim for monetary compensation against the debtor, joining the long list of those to whom “Eldorado” still owes money.
In addition to “Auchan,” state-owned giants Oschadbank and the Tax Service, as well as global appliance brands such as Delonghi and Ele, are attempting to recover their funds through the courts.
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