Created in partnership with LPP
Before the pandemic, the number of Polish companies which were successful on foreign markets was systematically growing. How to sustain this trend and how to repeat the foreign success of Poland's brand in the new reality? Answers to these questions were sought by the participants of the debate during the Economic Forum in Karpacz.
Artur Beck, Vice President of Employers of Poland, said that we should consider what to do so that Polish products and services could be exported on a much larger scale. He pointed out that our chances consist in the development of robotics and digitisation towards Industry 4.0. 'We have had 30 years of economic successes, but we still have a lot of work to do', he opined. He also called for greater support for small and medium-sized enterprises with regard to research and development.
According to Przemysław Mitraszewski, representative of the Management Board of LPP, Poland is catching up very quickly with developed countries. And building a strong economy requires long-term thinking. 'The owner of LPP, Marek Piechocki, made a strategic decision a few years ago to build a multi-generational company. This means that we want LPP to remain a Polish company for generations. It is not built to be sold. Therefore, its brands and products are also to remain Polish.'
He also said how LPP coped with the unprecedented situation brought about by the pandemic. 'Overnight, we were deprived of the possibility of brick-and-mortar sales. At the time, online sales only accounted for several per cent of our revenues, which means that nearly 90 per cent suddenly disappeared. This required quick decision-making and adapting not only the company's structure and its operating rules, but also technology to the new conditions. In particular, we had to significantly change our logistics so that we could deliver orders to our customers,' said the representative of LPP. He added that during the lockdown the company's online sales grew four- to fivefold compared to the previous year. 'In a few months we achieved the growth that had been planned for two or three years,' he said. He added, however, that it did not mark the end of brick-and-mortar stores, and the company relied on the omnichannel growth, i.e. the development of two mutually complementary sales channels.
