50°29′12″N30°36′34″E / 50.48667°N 30.60944°E /50.48667; 30.60944
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 Epicentr K mall inKyiv | |
Native name | Епіцентр К |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Epitsentr K |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | August 27, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-08-27) inKyiv, Ukraine |
| Founders | Oleksandr Hereha[1] Halyna Hereha[2] |
| Headquarters | 6K Berkovetska Street,, |
Key people | Petro Mykhailyshyn Tetiana Surzhyk |
| Products | gardening, metal/wood, plumbing, tools, decor, flooring, electronics, construction materials |
| Website | epicentrk |
Epicentr K (Ukrainian:Епіцентр К) is ahome improvementhypermarket chain inUkraine. The company is one of the first in the country to introduce hardware stores and remains the leader in this category.
Epicentr was the first in Ukraine to come up with wholesale stores inUkraine, with their hypermarkets being heavily inspired byFrench retailerCastorama[citation needed]. As of 2023 the company had opened 75 stores nationwide.[3] The company carries a collection of awards such as "The Brand of the Year" (2008).[citation needed]
In 1994Oleksandr Hereha and his wifeHalyna began to sell the tiles fromPoland at markets. In 1996 they've founded the Cermet AGS company and opened a tile store inKyiv. In 2001 following the experience ofCastorama's Polish chain it was decided to build a big hardware hypermarket. The Epicentr name was suggested by one of the sellers and a K letter was added as a short for команда, a team in Ukrainian.
The first Epicentr K was built in 2003 inKyiv on Viskozna Street with help of Polish experts. The opening was scheduled 6 December at 10:00 however the heating could only be conducted at 3 AM and the ceremony only took place due to the warm weather that winter. Epicentr had been one of the several chains that introduced a hypermarket format to Ukrainians that year.[4]
In 2005 the company opened three more stores, on Bratyslavska Street, onKiltseva Road and on Petra Hryhorenka Avenue, the latter two were situated next toMetro Cash&Carry stores.
In 2006 it was decided to expand the business to other regions, the first hypermarket outside of Kyiv was opened inLviv, alongside it the company built the stores inPoltava andOdesa.
In 2007, eight stores were built nationwide including ones inIvano-Frankivsk,Dnipropetrovsk,Kharkiv,Khmelnytskyi andKryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), the latter one was the first one to be situated outside the regional center, it had been built in 76 days.
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As of 2008, there were 16 stores built with eight more projected. New malls had been built inRivne,Ternopil,Kharkiv andChernivtsi. In 2008 an Epicentr Sports Club had been opened inHorodok,Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
In 2009, the company expanded its offerings to include consumer goods in addition to building materials.[5] That year malls were opened inUzhhorod,Lviv,Odesa,Luhansk,Cherkasy andPetropavlivska Borshchahivka (Kyiv Oblast).
On 11 December 2009 the company opened 56,000 square metres (600,000 ft2) store on Berkovetska Street in Kyiv, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, the building also served as a company's main office.[6][7] The opening ceremony was held byViktor Yushchenko, thePresident of Ukraine at the time.[8]
The peak of company's extension was in 2010–2013, 8-9 stores were opening each year.[9]
In 2010 the new malls inLutsk,Vinnytsia andZaporizhzhia were opened.
In 2011 the chain had opened their 30th store, it was built inMukachevo,Zakarpattia Oblast. Also the new malls were built inKirovohrad,Luhansk andKamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast).
In 2012 the 40th Epicentr K was opened inStryi,Lviv Oblast the Epicentr hypermarkets were opened inDnipropetrovsk,Simferopol,Kherson,Mariupol andHorlivka (Donetsk Oblast).
In October 2013 Epicentr K acquired the controlling stake ofNova Liniia hardware store chain.[10] The new malls were opened inDniprodzerzhynsk (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast),Kolomyia (Ivano-Frankivska Oblast) andDonetsk. Also that year Epicentr bought the logistic complex inKalynivka,Kyiv Oblast, it was reconstructed in 2015.[11]
In 2014 Epicentr K began its format transition from hardware hypermarkets to modern malls, in December the company opened the 105,000 square metres (1,130,000 ft2) hypermarket, at 20 Polyarna Street in Kyiv. The store is recognized as "The World's Largest Trading Center of DIY format" by the Book of Records of Ukraine, surpassing their previous record set in 2009.[5] Also new malls had been opened inBrovary (Kyiv Oblast) andSumy.
In September 2015Intersport sports goods company became a partner of Epicentr opening their first Ukrainian stores in the hardware malls.[12]
In 2015 the hypermarket chain had bought a closed Alta Center mall inKyiv and began expanding it. The reconstructed mall was reopened as Epicentr K in March 2018.[13] Also the company had opened an Epicentr Sports Complex inKhmelnytskyi andKamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytskyi Oblast).
In July 2016 Epicentr K acquired the control stake of Vinnytsia Agrarian Holding which owns 50 000 ha of land.[14]
In 2016 Epicentr opened their online store called 27.ua. Pick-up points began to open in various cities, the first Epicentr in Kyiv, opened back in 2003, was reconstructed into pick-up point as well. Also new malls were built inBila Tserkva (Kyiv Oblast) andDubno (Rivne Oblast).
In 2017 Epicentr K opened their smallest mall size of which is 3500 m2, it is located inShepetivka,Khmelnytskyi Oblast.[15] Also a new mall was built inUman,Cherkasy Oblast.
In 2018 the company planned to increase the total number of the stores to 53,[16] opening new malls inMykolaiv,Odesa andSlavuta (Khmelnytskyi Oblast).
At Retail & Development Business Awards 2018 Epicentr K received the Best Homeware Retailer award from Retail Association of Ukraine.[17]
In March 2019 the company had bought an unfinishedArsen supermarket inChervonohrad,Lviv Oblast, and rebuilt it into one of Epicentr K stores.[18] In December an Epicentr was opened in formerNova Liniia hypermarket inBoryspil,Kyiv Oblast.[19] Also the chain had built a new malls inKovel,Novovolynsk (Volyn Oblast),Kramatorsk (Donetsk Oblast),Khust (Zakarpattia Oblast),Boiarka (Kyiv Oblast),Starokostiantyniv (Khmelnytskyi Oblast) andPryluky (Chernihiv Oblast).
In 2019, the agrarian operations of Epicenter K expanded after its owners purchased 1,364 hectares.[20]
In December 2019 27.ua website changed its domain to epicentrk.ua and became a marketplace next year.[21]
In February 2020 Epicentr Agro acquired Svarog West Group inKhmelnytskyi Oblast.[22]
In 2020 Epicentr K signed deals with4F[23] andThe Athlete's Foot[24] to open their stores in Ukraine. Also the company had bought the Modul mall inBucha,Kyiv Oblast, and reconstructed it into one of their hypermarkets. New malls inVinnytsia,Zaporizhzhia,Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia Oblast) andKalush (Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast) were opened.
In 2021 Epicentr Ceramic Corporation plant was opened inKalynivka,Kyiv Oblast.[25]
In October 2021 Epicentr K had opened their first mall-in-mall format store inKyiv'sBlockbuster Mall, the size of hypermarket was 27 000 m2 and it was a first Epicentr to be opened in a rented space instead of a standalone building.[26] Also new malls had been opened inNikopol (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast),Mykolaiv andPervomaisk (Mykolaiv Oblast), alongside them a formerNova Liniia store inKherson had been reconstructed into Epicentr.
In September 2022 (6 months after the onset of the full-scaleRussian invasion of Ukraine) Epicenter K had opened a 'brave format' three-floor mall inLviv, where the first floor is a hardware hypermarket, the second floor is a shopping and entertainment center and the third floor is rented out. The mall's size is almost 90, 000 m2.[27] Also new malls had been opened inKyiv andKharkiv.
On May 25, 2024, the mall in Kharkiv was hit and destroyed by Russian glide bombs. Eighteen civilians were killed.[28]
Each store has a big overflow and free parking. In each store you can find also a cafe and a bank. The company offers a possibility of custom design on a wide selection of its products as well as delivery and an express delivery.
The company also helps with the construction of the Kyivan Spiritual Academy and participates in a wide variety of sponsorship throughout the country:Gert Goff show commemorated to 750-year anniversary ofLviv, jubilee concerts ofPavlo Zibrov andValentyna Stepova, and many others.
In 2008, the company became the title sponsor of theUkrainian Premier League infootball.
For some period, the company was a sponsor of theUkraine national football team (Ukrainian Association of Football).
Starting in 2019 the company's sponsorship made possible for one of the Ukrainian provincial football clubs fromDunaivtsi organize into a competitive collective and participate in football competitions at national level (FC Epitsentr Dunaivtsi).
9 September 2017 Epicentr K warehouses inLviv caught fire. Approximately 30 m2 of space burned down because of fire at the plumbing rack.[29]
2 September 2021 at 12:58 inPervomaisk a man with an axe and a knife came to one of Epicentr K stores and spilled the flammables. Mall's security tried to stop him but he struck one of them with an axe, set the fire and ran away, they've chased them down in the yards but began to fight and wounded another guard. Meanwhile over 1000 m² of space were on fire, it was localized at 14:20 and liquidated at 18:30. February 4 police had caught the man and arrested him for 60 days.[30]
During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, the Epicenter K in Mariupol suffered significant damage during a mass bombing on 2 March as part of theSiege of Mariupol.[31]
On 25 May 2024, the Epicenter hypermarket in Kharkiv wasstruck by two Russian glide bombs. There were approximately 200 people inside.[32]