Varus (supermarket)
Native name | ТОВ «Омега» |
|---|---|
| Company type | Limited liability company |
| Industry | Retail E-commerce |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Weygant Enterprises Limited (Cyprus)[1] |
| Headquarters | Dnipro, Ukraine |
Number of locations | 113 |
Area served | Ukraine |
Key people | Volodymyr Bezuhlyi (CEO) |
| Products | Food products Non-food products |
| Revenue | ₴12.22 billion (2020) |
| ₴426.42 million (2020) | |
| ₴116.07 million (2020) | |
| Total assets | ₴4.76 billion (2020) |
| Total equity | ₴202.09 million (2020) |
| Owner | Ruslan Shostak, Valerii Kiptyk |
Number of employees | 9,000 |
| Website | varus |
Varus is a Ukrainian chain of supermarkets founded in 2003 by the Cyprus-based company Weygant Enterprises limited. As of October 2022, the chain operated 116 supermarkets[2][3] in Dnipro, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Odesa oblasts, as well as in Kyiv.[4] In 2021, the company ranked 49th in Forbes magazine’s list of the "100 Largest Private Companies in Ukraine 2021."[5]
History
The first Varus supermarket opened in 2003 in the city of Dnipro.[6]
In 2009, the supermarket chain Brusnychka acquired 22 Varus-Express stores.[7]
In 2011, the owners of Varus acquired a number of Rainford and Tsentr supermarkets in seven cities of central Ukraine and began opening Varus stores in the convenience store format at those locations.[8]
In March 2014, Varus obtained lease rights to premises, equipment, and inventory of the Russian supermarket chain Perekrestok in Ukraine and, within several months, completed a rebranding and reopened the stores under its own brand.[8]
In October 2017, Varus acquired Billa supermarkets in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.[9]
By 2019, the number of Varus supermarkets had increased to 76,[10] and in November 2020, the chain reached 100 stores.[11] In December 2019, the delivery service Zakaz.ua launched grocery delivery from Varus supermarkets in Kyiv.[12]
In September 2022, Varus and Binance launched the option to pay for purchases on the chain’s website using cryptocurrency.[13]
According to 2024 results, Varus’s revenue reached UAH 23.92 billion, representing a 14.36% increase compared to 2023. Net profit amounted to UAH 30.07 million. During the year, Varus opened nine new supermarkets with a total sales area of 6,264 m², investing approximately US $7.5 million. The company also invested an additional US $2.5 million in the modernization and reconstruction of existing stores and allocated US $1 million for the purchase of generators to ensure uninterrupted operations.[14]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
From 24 February 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Varus network contracted by 15% due to the closure of supermarkets in Donetsk Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast.[15] Of the 116 supermarkets operating as of September 2022, only 98 remained open.[16]
During the advance on Kyiv, shelling destroyed the company’s frozen goods warehouse in Brovary.[16][3] In Dnipro, a missile strike destroyed a Varus equipment warehouse with a total area of 7,000 m².[3]
Company representatives stated that Varus stores would continue operating in occupied Kherson as long as cash collection could be conducted in non-occupied territory or until prohibited by Ukrainian authorities.[3]
Preliminary losses from the Russian invasion were estimated at “hundreds of millions” of hryvnias by Varus co-owner Ruslan Shostak.[3]
In March 2025, Varus legally documented losses caused by the shelling of the Aurora shopping center in Zaporizhzhia in May 2022, where a Varus supermarket was located, as well as losses resulting from the suspension of operations in temporarily occupied Energodar. The shelling caused losses of US$663,000. Total losses were estimated at over US$1.3 million. These assessments were conducted to support future compensation claims against the Russian Federation through international mechanisms.[17]
As part of the Yedynozbir fundraising initiative for anti-drone interceptor UAVs, Varus contributed UAH 1 million in November 2025.[18]
External links
References list
- ^ "Weygant Enterprises – Official Website". weygantenterprises.com. Weygant Enterprises Limited. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "How Varus organizes operations during wartime". 30 September 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Oksana Hryshyna (10 May 2022). "The fact that Ukraine avoided humanitarian collapse is the result of the heroic work of the entire retail sector". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Stores". varus.ua. LLC "Omega". Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "100 Largest Private Companies in Ukraine 2021". forbes.ua. Forbes. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Weygant Enterprises – Official Website". weygantenterprises.com. Weygant Enterprises Limited. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Kostiantyn Symonenko (2 December 2020). "Big Appetite: the Most Complete History of Mergers and Acquisitions in Ukrainian Retail". rau.ua. Association of Retailers of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ a b Volodymyr Tyravskyi (1 February 2022). "Supermarkets of the 21st Century: How FMCG Stores in Ukraine Have Developed and Changed". rau.ua. Association of Retailers of Ukraine. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ "Baker McKenzie Kyiv advises Billa-Ukraine on sale of three supermarkets to Varus". CEE Legal Matters. CEE Legal Matters. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Viktor Nahorskyi (17 December 2019). "FMCG news for November". Association of Retailers of Ukraine. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Varus surpasses 100-store milestone". Association of Retailers of Ukraine. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Zakaz.ua launched delivery from VARUS in Kyiv". Association of Retailers of Ukraine. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Yurii Tarasovskyi (15 September 2022). "Binance and Varus announce partnership". Forbes. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Oksana Dudka (26 March 2025). "Varus in 2024: revenue growth, investments and network expansion". RAU. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
- ^ Nata Shtuka (26 October 2022). "Why the largest stores again fail to return billions in debts". Forbes. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ a b "How Varus organizes operations during wartime". 30 September 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Shelling of Aurora shopping center caused US$663,000 in losses to Varus". ZaBor. 14 March 2025.
- ^ "Serhii Prytula Charity Foundation launched a UAH 1 billion fundraising campaign". Army.fm. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.