Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Clothing; Footwear
Executive summary
Attractiveness of fast growing polish market
Throughout the last decade Poland was the largest and most rapidly developing
market in Central and Eastern Europe, despite decreasing demand. After the
political changes in 1989 when communism turned into democracy the size of the
Polish textile and clothing industry matched its market environment. The
variety of goods also changed, as many foreign companies flooded the Polish
market with their brands.
Downward production trend
Average prices of clothing and footwear rose at a lower rate than inflation
and sometimes fell. This is the result of strong competition between retail
chains, cheap imports from Eastern Asia and the development of clearance sale
stores. The downward trend in production in the clothing industry in Poland,
recorded since 1998, is the result not only of a prolonged recession and ever
increasing competition from Asian producers, but also an effect of the
relocation of EU manufacturing plants to the Mediterranean region, other
Central and Eastern European countries and countries of the former Soviet
Union.
Expansion of brands
Clothing is provided by many companies due to a large number of Polish
clothing producers on the market. Around 20 of these companies comprise the
so-called group of design companies, which have their own style, brand, and
group of defined customers. A few companies from the group became leaders in
the market (for instance LPP SA with its brand "Reserved" was able within 5
years to increase its profits almost fivefold), Redan SA with its brand "Top
Secret" was also able to double its income within a year, KAN with its brand
"Tatuum" opened 17 shops in Poland and five abroad and is planning to expand
its operations in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Most common places to shop
Traditional clothing stores and bazaars continue to be Poles' most common
shopping locations for clothing. This is due primarily to prices. The majority
of people choose to shop in supermarkets and bazaars where prices are
relatively low. There are also a growing number of second-hand shops, whose
number significantly increased recently. This phenomenon is driven by the
offer of cheap clothes which have good western brands. Although an increasing
number of Poles are able to buy good Western brands clothes, others can only
afford to do so if purchased from second-hand stores, where prices are
significantly lower than in shopping centres.
Foreign companies discover untapped Polish market
A significant number of new projects are materialising in Poland. For
instance, Spanish Inditex is developing its brand portfolio in Poland (besides
Zara Polska, in which Polish Empik Media Fashion is also a shareholder),
introducing new clothing brands: Bershka, Pull and Bear, Oysho and
Stradivarius. The British chain Next is also planning to open its first store
in Poland and the Russian company Sela will open its first store in Warsaw. It
is not only native firms and large Western companies who are appreciating the
Polish market' s potential, but also retailers from countries that have not
traditionally been associated with modern commerce.
Players with an established market presence are also planning to embark on new
projects -- shoe manufacturer and retailer Gino Rossi is planning a new Vanita
retail chain. Polkowice-based footwear company CCC decided on a similar move,
opening Quazi stores which offer a higher-end product than the 240 locations
already operating under the CCC banner.
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