The efficiency of commercial activities of the largest trading enterprises of the region in the conditions of the pandemic

Retail trade plays a crucial role in the consumer market, as it forms the offer of goods and directly interacts with end consumers - mainly individuals, as well as organizations. The deterioration of the economic situation in recent years has led to increased inflation in the economy, which contributed to rising prices in the consumer market. At the same time, there was a decrease in the purchasing power of the population, which ultimately led to a drop in demand in the consumer market and a decrease in sales, thereby worsening the results and efficiency of commercial activities. In the course of the work, a comparative assessment of the commercial activities of the largest trading enterprises of the Kursk region was carried out based on an analysis of the main indicators of their financial and economic activities in 2019 and 2021, the trends formed under the influence of the pandemic and their causes were identified. It has been established that, according to the results of 2021, among the retail trade enterprises in the Kursk region, only 7 are characterized as the largest - with a revenue of more than 500 million rubles. At the same time, among the TOP-7 regions considered, the obvious leader is Europe LLC with revenue in 2021 of more than 24.5 billion rubles. A comparative assessment of absolute liquidity indicators showed that the most favorable situation by 2021 was formed in OOO Evropa and OOO Neftetrans. The unfavorable economic situation amid the pandemic did not have a significant negative impact on the largest trading enterprises in the region, while maintaining a low level of liquidity and financial stability in them is due to the large amount of borrowed funds.