Liquor stores during the war: who provides Ukrainians with elite alcoholic goods and makes a profit from it?
War always increases the demand for certain goods that can alleviate the horrors of combat.
One of these products is alcohol, which many use as emotional and psychological relief. And the owners of specialized alcohol markets receive billions in profits. TM Goodwine
Perhaps this is the most famous TM of a company selling elite alcohol today, which, although it owns only 3 large alcohol markets (2 more operate under the Bad Boy TM). So, all 3 Goodwine alcohol markets are located in Kyiv, there is also a wine bar, restaurants and a number of other establishments. It all started with a retail outlet with an area of 1200 square meters in the capital in 2006.
But in addition to alcohol markets, a restaurant and a bar, Goodwine is primarily an online alcohol store where you can order thousands of brands of wine, whiskey and other strong and not so strong drinks. True, the minimum order starts from 1000 hryvnia.
All these alcohol markets, an online store and other enterprises are united into the Buro Wine group of companies, whose owners are businessmen Vladimir Shapovalov (62%) and Dmitry Krymsky.
The report of Bureau of Wine LLC speaks about income (and losses). If in 2021 the company earned UAH 3.7 billion, then in 2022 revenue fell to UAH 2.3 billion.
TM Charka until holy
According to retailers, this is the largest network of alcohol stores in Ukraine, the lion's share of which is concentrated in the Lviv region - more than 200 out of 331 outlets. The secret to the stores' success probably lies in the name of the site - alcohol at wholesale prices, which allows the chain to develop at a rapid pace and bring its owner more than UAH 1.5 billion by the end of 2022.
TM “Charka do svyata” is Ovation LLC, owned by businessman Igor Tselnik. During the war year, due to the fact that 2/3 of the chain’s stores are located in the rear Lviv region, the LLC increased its income from UAH 1 billion 132 million in 2021 to UAH 1 billion 549 million in 2022.
TM White dry
A rather unoriginal, simple name should reflect the brand strategy - a small alcohol store near the house, which excels in quantity and availability. As a result, after 5 years of operation, the chain of stores exceeded 150 outlets.
In terms of ownership structure, “White Sukhoe” belongs to Andrey Butkov, the owner of Massmart LLC. In 2022, the company’s revenue amounted to 1 billion 39 million UAH, which is almost 200 million more than in pre-war 2021.
TM OKWINE
If, for example, Goodwine decided to rely on exclusivity and online trading, in TM OKWINE by Alexander Androshchuk, things are exactly the opposite. Although the brand has its own web market, the company’s main focus is on a network of alcohol stores located in regional centers of the country with a small area of up to 200 square meters.
As a result, their total number reaches approximately 100 stores, half of which - 51 - are located in Kyiv. For a company that started operating in 2012, this is a significant success.
It is difficult to say how much money the alcohol trade brings to the brand owner, Alexander Androshchuk, since he owns several companies, each of which deals with its own market segment. But in general, his companies were able to increase their income in 2022.
For example, Kalya LLC earned UAH 372 million in 2022, which is UAH 15 million more than in pre-war 2021; Wine Hunters LLC was able to earn UAH 74 million more – UAH 470 million. However, at the same time, Barrick LLC, which actually sells alcohol at retail in OKWINE stores, reduced its revenue by UAH 68 million. – up to UAH 210 million compared to 2021.
TM Wine Wine by Winehouse
Unlike other brands, TM Wine Wine by Winehouse is part of the leader in the alcohol production market in Ukraine, the Bayadera Group company, which controls 30% of the production of strong drinks in Ukraine.
The owners of the company and the Wine Wine by Winehouse brand are the sister of the company’s founder, Natalya Bondareva, and her nephew Svyatoslav Nechitailo. Back in 2019, the first brand store was opened in Kyiv on Predslavinskaya Street, where customers were offered alcohol at wholesale prices when purchasing 6 or more units of goods.
For 3 years, Bayadere wanted to open 10 stores of this format, but due to the outbreak of the war, only 4 were opened.
Since Wine Wine by Winehouse is subordinate to the Bayadera Group, it is difficult to say exactly how much alcohol markets bring to Natalya Bondareva and Svyatoslav Nechitailo, but, for example, Bayadera Logistics LLC, engaged in the wholesale trade of alcohol, earned 7.25 billion in 2022 (UAH 8.1 billion in 2021).
TM Wine Time
The Wine Time brand has followed a universal path - sales are carried out both through specialized stores, of which there are 31 in the network, and online. It is curious that, despite the “wine” name, this brand sells not only alcohol, but also various gastronomic products and delicacies. However, since the number of alcohol producers is three times greater than that of food products (600 and 200, respectively), the company’s owners rely specifically on alcoholic products.
Among the owners of TM Wine Time - “Asnova Holding”, we see several businessmen at once, including the main owner of TM Goodwine, Vladimir Shapovalov. True, he is not the main partner in Asnova Holding - he became Maxim Safonov, whose company is the exclusive distributor of Procter & Gamble products in Ukraine.
Although TM Wine Time has been operating since 2010, the owners do not like to report their income, preferring to dilute their profits in the main enterprise, Asnova Holding.
TM Alcomag
Behind the Alcomag TM there are 60 stores selling alcohol, more than half of which, 37, are concentrated in the Dnieper. And this is easily explained, because the owner of the company is Dnipro City Council deputy Sergei Shevchenko, who started as a member of the Dill party, and is now a member of the Proposition party. However, both political forces are associated with the mayor of Dnieper Boris Filatov.
The license to sell TM Alcomag alcohol was issued to Shevchenko Trading House LLC, and 2022 was a very successful year for the deputy’s company. Thus, the company managed to earn almost 378 million UAH, while a year earlier it was 220 million UAH.
TM Wines of the world
Like other alcohol markets, “Wines of the World” combines the sale of alcohol on the Internet and a network of offline stores, about 60. True, not all of them work; some were under occupation, for example, in Donetsk and Melitopol.
The Wines of the World group of companies, which includes 25 companies, belongs to Oleg and Taisiya Oleynik, and Zakhar Budko. Due to the large number of legal entities included in the group and the lack of reporting for most of them, it is impossible to estimate the profitability from the sale of alcohol for the owners.
For example, Vine Hall LLC reported a drop in income in 2022 by almost 15 times – from UAH 725 million to UAH 54 million.
TM “Chervone and Bilenke”
The brand includes 69 stores and is owned by businessman from Donetsk Maxim Poveshchenko through Trading House Ukrainian Product LLC.
Judging by open financial indicators, 2022 was a successful year for Chervone and Bilenke, despite the war, the income of TD Ukrainian Product increased from UAH 106 million in 2021 to UAH 112 million. in 2022.
TM Wine Point
The Wine Point chain of wine stores began operating in Ukraine in 2017 and consists of 24 branded stores that sell imported wines from Europe, South America and Africa, and they are all united within the DesNa group of companies by Andrey Kaplan and Koba Machkhidze.
Judging by the reporting for 2022, the chain’s stores operated more than successfully. Thus, Wine Point LLC increased its revenue from UAH 43.2 million in 2021 to UAH 72.2 million in 2022. At the same time, the group’s supporting company, Firma DesNa LLC, earned only UAH 649.7 million versus UAH 890.5 million. in 2021.
As is easy to see, despite the war, Ukrainians continue to consume elite and expensive alcohol, although many companies have experienced a decrease in demand for it and a drop in revenue. Nevertheless, the market leader remained the same - TM Goodwine, and the military situation played on the side of TM “Charka Do Svyata”, which significantly increased sales and income volumes, thanks to its rear status.
