Epicenter opens reconstructed shopping center in Chernihiv
Epicenter K LLC has built a larger, safer shopping center in Chernihiv to replace the one destroyed at the start of the full-scale invasion. The grand opening is set for Saturday, November 9, according to a company press release.
"After the only Epicenter in the city was destroyed, we received numerous requests from residents to reopen. Despite major losses and wartime risks, we made the strategic decision to rebuild an even more modern and secure facility. This new Epicenter will aid in quickly providing local residents with the building materials they need for housing repairs," said Dmytro Tanko, Epicenter's Retail Director.
The restored shopping center on 57, Shevchenko Street, in Novoselky, has expanded by nearly 50% to almost 33,000 square meters, allowing it to host all of Epicenter's innovative shop-in-shop formats, including Pharmacy 100+, Lapki Pet Store, Flora Center, Furniture Center, Appliance Center, Deco Gallery, Intersport, E.Pic, Expert, and departments for electronics, flooring, plumbing, gardening, and construction materials.
The new facility will also feature a large 2,400-square-meter Food Market with its own food court. For locals, the center offers "Multiservice" with dry cleaning, clothing and shoe repair, as well as services like "Keymaster" and "House of Water."
The expanded center has created around 100 additional jobs, bringing the total employment at the facility to about 500 people. The center is also expected to contribute significantly to the local community’s budget, heavily impacted by the invasion. The company estimates annual tax payments to local and state budgets will exceed UAH 57 million.
Plans also include a Drive-in Arena (3,300 square meters), allowing customers to drive directly in to shop and load their purchases conveniently. Additionally, a dual-use facility will feature an underground parking lot that can serve as a shelter for over 5,000 people, along with a new E1 electric vehicle charging station with reservation options via the GO TO-U platform.
Epicenter K operates as an omnichannel ecosystem, incorporating the Epicenter and Nova Linia retail chains, the e-commerce site epicentrk.ua, the agricultural holding Epicenter-Agro, the Epicenter Ceramic Corporation tile factories, Osmoloda Timber Processing, and various logistics facilities.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion, the Epicenter retail network included over 80 shopping centers across Ukraine. Seven locations were destroyed by the war in Mariupol, Nikopol, Bucha, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson (two centers). Three additional locations (in Melitopol, Kramatorsk, and another in Kharkiv) remain closed due to occupation, shelling, or proximity to conflict zones.
Currently, the group's retail network comprises 71 stores in Ukraine.
According to Ukraine's Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Epicenter K LLC's shareholders include Oleksandr Hereha (51.3%), Halyna Hereha (47.97%), and Tetiana Surzhyk (0.73%).