Slovaks will soon have another shopping chain to choose from, enabling cheap food purchases. The Polish chain Biedronka will open its first branch in the country. Its management has already launched an advertising campaign and confirmed the opening date of the first stores a few days ago. According to previous analyses, Biedronka’s entry into the Slovak market will mean great competition for other chains.
The Polish chain Biedronka is heading to Slovakia.
| Photo: Profimedia
Neighbors – SlovakiaSource: DiaryThe departures of thousands of Slovaks to buy cheap food in Poland seem to be partly canceled. A Polish chain will open its first branches in Slovakia Ladybird. His representatives have already officially confirmed it, and the date when those interested in purchasing from this seller will be available is already clear.
“News about the company’s plans to enter the Slovak market appeared already in March. The discount chain, which belongs to the Portuguese company Jerónimo Martins, should open its first stores in Slovakia at the end of next year. This was stated by the financial director of Jerónimo Martins, Ana Luisa Virginia,” the Slovak press agency TASR reported.
Shopping for the neighbors? The Biedronka chain, popular among Czechs, is heading to Slovakia
However, it is not yet clear how many Biedronka branches Slovaks will have or in which cities the stores will be located. At first, it will probably be one store, with the number increasing depending on interest, Slovak media speculate. Representatives of the Portuguese company do not want to comment on this. “We’re talking about a business where we’re starting from scratch, so we wouldn’t want to go into more detail,” Virginia responded.
As the Slovak portal aktuality.sk found out, the chain has taken several steps that indicate the assortment that customers will find in Slovak branches. “She gave it back in the summer Ladybird to register trademarks, which are also counted with us. She also registered the Slovak domain biedronka.sk, currently the website automatically redirects you to the Polish Biedronka website when you try to visit it. However, it is obvious that it will use the concept with which Biedronka is also successful in Poland. It will therefore be a discount sale, when the network tries to offer the lowest possible prices. It will also be common for employees not to unpack products and for them to be in boxes. It will also sell products under its own brands. The Industrial Property Office has already confirmed the use of the Herbarium brand for teas, Bondi for yogurts, Elios for Greek specialties and Miami primarily for children’s products,” outlined aktuality.sk.
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According to this portal, several buyers from the competing Schwarz group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland, have already moved to Biedronka, which is proof that with the arrival of the Polish chain, a competitive battle begins in Slovakia.
Dragging customers
As Slovak television Markíza reported, Biedronka will probably represent significant competition for chains such as Lidl and Kaufland. Although there is still at least a year to go before the opening of the first stores, they are already trying to attract an increasing number of Slovak customers.
“It can be expected that it will fight for customers with lower prices and an offer of new products from Poland. Now she launched an original campaign. It offers a so-called Slovak week in all its Polish branches. This is the first type of such action in this chain. This is how Poles try to present our traditional products. All products are in our original packaging, as we know them from our stores,” outlined Markíza last week.
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Slovaks are curious about the arrival of a new chain. “With current food prices, it will be great to have another alternative to go shopping. I know Biedronka personally only from the stories of acquaintances who goes to Poland regularly, but if its branch in Slovakia is not far away, I will definitely go there,” Veronika, in her forties from western Slovakia, told Denik.
The Biedronka chain is also popular with Czech customers, who often go beyond the Polish borders to find it. And according to experts, it is not excluded that in time Biedronka will also be available to the Czechs. “For this company, the Czech market can be even more interesting, it is bigger than the Slovak one. If the network succeeds in Slovakia, it can also turn to us. People will quickly find new quality stores with lower prices. Which puts pressure on existing chains,” he commented previously for Deník economist Štěpán Křeček.
At neighboursSource: DiaryRubric With neighbors
Nowadays, we often know much more about what is happening on the other side of the world than what is happening close to our borders, in the neighboring countries of the Czech Republic. That’s why we decided to bring you light-hearted news on this site every Sunday about what’s happening “at the neighbors”, i.e. at Slovakiain Poland, Germany and Austria.
You will be informed by people who either live in the given countries, such as Eliška Gáfriková in Slovakia, Martin Kratochvíl in Poland, or work near the borders, such as Alexandr Vanžura in Děčín, or Iva Haghofer near the Austrian border in South Moravia. We thank Mr. Vladimír Majer for the inspiration to create the column. Sometimes I, the European editor Luboš Palata, will contribute a Central European perspective to the column.
We wish you a nice Sunday reading.
