ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF RETAIL IN CRISIS CONDITIONS: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MARKET LEADERS

Abstract

The article explores the methodological foundations for assessing the economic sustainability of retail chains in a crisis environment. Modern scientific approaches to ensuring the sustainability of retail enterprises are generalized, and key exogenous and endogenous factors influencing their functioning are identified. The theoretical and methodological principles of forming the systemic architecture of retail enterprises' economic sustainability under conditions of heightened macroeconomic turbulence are investigated. Key exogenous and endogenous determinants affecting the viability of network retail are systematized from the perspective of an object-structural approach. The study substantiates the inappropriateness of relying solely on static liquidity ratios and proves the priority role of the operating and financial cycles concept for assessing companies' market immunity. A comprehensive approach to assessing economic sustainability is proposed, based on combining traditional financial indicators with a dynamic analysis of operating and financial cycles. Using the proportional modeling method, a comparative analysis of the financial and temporal parameters of the leading Ukrainian retail chains, "ATB-Market" and "Silpo," was conducted. The comparative analysis demonstrated that business model architecture significantly impacts an enterprise's level of economic sustainability. It is established that the discounter model ensures the formation of a deeply negative financial cycle and a high level of financial immunity, whereas the classic supermarket model maintains sustainability through higher profit margins, a strong brand, and efficient accounts payable management. The expediency of using the temporal parameters of the operating and financial cycles as key indicators for assessing the economic sustainability of retail chains in modern conditions of uncertainty is substantiated. The specifics of forming a negative financial cycle for the hard discounter model, which provides a zone of absolute sustainability driven by suppliers' capital, are revealed. Furthermore, the factors stabilizing the capital-intensive model of a classic supermarket through the market power of the brand and higher business margins are determined.