Ukrainian publishing house Vivat is changing the operational format of its retail network: some bookstores have already ceased operations, and the company is not ruling out further closures next year. This was announced in a statement to the media by Yulia Orlova, CEO and co-owner of Vivat, as cited by RBC-Ukraine, Dilo, Forbes, and Channel 24. According to her, the reason is prolonged air raid alerts that reduce the actual working hours of the stores and, consequently, their revenue, while fixed business expenses remain in place.
First Closure: Magellan Mall in Kyiv
One of the locations that has already ceased operations is the Vivat bookstore in Kyiv's Magellan shopping center. According to Orlova, the decision to close was made even though the shopping center administration had agreed to offer the company a rent discount. The CEO explained that with no customers and no revenue, rental concessions do not compensate for losses: "No rent discounts help when there are no people and no revenue."
Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv: From 14 to 35 Hours of Downtime Per Week
According to the company, in the past week alone, Kyiv bookstores lost up to two hours of operation daily due to air raid alerts, totaling about 14 hours of downtime per week. The situation in Dnipro and Kharkiv is even more difficult, according to Orlova: there, stores lose about five hours daily due to alerts, which translates to about 35 hours of downtime per week for each location. Similar problems, she noted, arise in other cities as well.
Fixed Expenses With Zero Revenue
The key problem pointed out by Vivat's management is that even during forced suspensions of operations, stores continue to incur financial burdens. The company is obliged to pay rent, heating, electricity, and staff salaries. Thus, during periods of downtime, the business generates expenses without corresponding revenue, making the continued operation of certain locations economically unviable.
New Formats and Strategy Review for 2027
In response to changing conditions, Vivat is revising its network management approaches: relocating certain branches, merging locations, reviewing costs, and searching for operational formats that will allow it to function in the new reality. Separately, the company is already reviewing its bookstore strategy for 2027. Yulia Orlova explicitly stated that Vivat anticipates the possibility of further closures over the next year and emphasized that she does not want to hide behind the word "relocation," but rather call things by their proper names — it is a forced closure of a portion of the stores.
Broader Context: The Toll of Alerts on Retail
Vivat's case fits into a broader trend recorded by Ukrainian media: due to prolonged air raid alerts, not only bookstores but also restaurants, cafes, and other retail establishments are shutting down or reducing their hours. For book retail, where revenue depends on customer traffic, losing even a few hours of operation a day while maintaining fixed costs becomes critical, forcing chains to change their operational model or close their least resilient locations.
