New Yorker in Belarus: seven stores and a different operator

The liquidation of New Yorker’s Belarusian company does not, at this stage, mean that the brand is leaving the country. According to a Charter97 report dated 7 November 2026, the trade register lists seven stores belonging to another company, NewFashion. For those considering franchise opportunities in Belarus, the story is primarily about the distinction between the fate of an individual legal entity and the continued operation of stores under an international brand.

What is known about the company’s liquidation

On 6 November, Charter97, citing the publication Plan B, reported that New Yorker BLR was undergoing liquidation. An entry to that effect appeared in the State Register of Taxpayers, maintained by Belarus’s Ministry of Taxes and Duties. The report described the company as the local management company for the German clothing retailer, which has been present in the country since 2018.

Meanwhile, New Yorker stores continued to operate. The 6 November report stated that five stores were in Minsk, with one each in Grodno and Vitebsk. At that point, neither the head office nor the local office had issued an official comment on the reasons for the liquidation.

It is important to distinguish between two facts: the start of liquidation proceedings against a company and the closure of a retail network. The former is recorded in the taxpayer register. The latter is not supported by the published information. It would therefore be premature to describe this as New Yorker’s definitive withdrawal from Belarus.

The initial report suggested that transferring the stores to a franchisee was one possible way for the brand to remain in the country. However, information published the following day identified a different owner of the stores, providing a clearer picture.

NewFashion is behind all seven stores

In its report of 7 November, Charter97 stated that, according to the trade register on that date, all seven New Yorker stores in Belarus belonged to NewFashion. The company to which the stores are registered and New Yorker BLR, which is being liquidated, are therefore separate legal entities.

According to information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs cited by the publication, NewFashion belongs to Gennady Kim-Glozman, previously known by the surname Kireykov. The report also noted that the businessman owns Grinroznitsa, Green and other assets within the Rapa group of companies.

There has also been a recent opening: one New Yorker store began trading in late September at the Avia Mall shopping centre in the Minsk World residential development. According to the publication, the other stores have been operating for several years. The September opening provides a specific point in the timeline, but does not in itself reveal the chain’s future plans.

This information does not explain exactly when the current operating structure was established or what agreements link NewFashion to the brand owner. It does, however, show why a single entry recording the liquidation of New Yorker BLR is not enough to conclude that all stores are closing.

A franchise arrangement remains unconfirmed

Charter97 suggests that NewFashion may operate New Yorker’s Belarusian stores under a franchise arrangement. The report presents this as a likely possibility rather than an established fact. It provides no contract terms, details of any registration of the agreement or official confirmation from the brand.

For the franchising community, this distinction matters. The fact that an international brand’s stores operate through a separate local company does not, on its own, establish a franchise relationship. The published information identifies the owner of the stores, but not the legal basis of its relationship with New Yorker.

Nor is there any basis for presenting the situation as an announced transfer of the network to a new partner. The 7 November report establishes which company the stores were registered to on a particular date, but gives no date for a change of operator or confirmation that such a change took place.

At the time of publication, New Yorker had made no official statement about plans to leave the Belarusian market. The absence of such a statement does not guarantee that the network will remain in future, but it means a possible withdrawal cannot be presented as a decision that has been taken and announced.

What this means for entrepreneurs

The New Yorker situation illustrates the practical value of checking not only the brand name but also the specific legal entity with which you intend to do business. In this case, information about one company’s liquidation sits alongside records showing seven stores belonging to another. These records answer different questions and are not interchangeable.

Entrepreneurs considering a partnership with an international chain should establish separately who owns the stores, who is offering the contract and on what basis that party is authorised to grant or exercise rights to the brand. Public speculation about a franchise is no substitute for documentary evidence of the relationship.

Practical takeaway: for now, the accurate description is that New Yorker BLR is being liquidated and seven New Yorker stores are registered to NewFashion. Neither the brand’s withdrawal from Belarus nor a franchise model for the network has been officially confirmed. Business decisions should be based on checks of the legal entity and its contractual rights, rather than on the shop sign or a news headline alone.