RESEARCH PAPER
Changes in the Concentration and Integration of Retail Trade in Poland
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Publication date: 2009-06-30
GNPJE 2009;232(5-6):113-131
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ABSTRACT
The article examines some new trends among retail chains operating in Poland, in particular what is known as concentration and integration. The analysis was made with the desk research method on the basis of statistical data reported by the Central Statistical Office (GUS). The author also used data from league tables ranking the country’s largest businesses and statistics on the development of retail centers in the country.
The study confirms that Poland’s retail trade sector has undergone far-reaching concentration and integration over the past several years. Changes have primarily included a growing number of mergers and acquisitions and the substitution of organizational integration with financial ties. These trends have been especially widespread among businesses with Polish capital, but they have also applied to foreign-owned companies, some of which have withdrawn from the Polish market, the author says. The current course of concentration and integration processes in Poland’s retail trade seems to indicate that the sector’s future development will see more mergers and acquisitions and further development of retail centers, Maleszyk says. These trends are in line with what is happening in highly developed countries, the author concludes.