Kolporter exits multimedia

Kielce-based press, book and FMCG retailer Kolporter has decided to abandon its multimedia-store project, with which it hoped to challenge dominant media chain Empik.

"The market has weakened and our multimedia outlets are not generating the profits we expected," Maciej Topolski, spokesperson for Kolporter, told Gazeta Wyborcza. The company originally planned to open 100 such stores, but has so far launched just 24.

Kolporter launched the first of its multimedia chain outlets in November 2004. The firm opened these stores in shopping centers where its competitor Empik was not present, such as CH Reduta in Warsaw, where it has a 600-sqm store. Outlets in other retail centers range from 400 to 900 sqm in size. In the Świętokrzyskie voivodship, where the company is headquartered, Kolporter has two multimedia stores - one in Kielce and one in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.

The recent decision will mean the loss of 220 jobs, but according to Topolski, some of the affected workers will find work in other sections of the company. The group also plans to continue developing its Kolporter Expo trade fair operations, its courier service and the Kolporter.pl e-store.

Monika Marianowicz, PR manager at Empik, admitted that the closure of 24 Kolporter stores would not translate into a sudden jump in sales for her company.
"Our main competition is scattered throughout many sectors and Kolporter will remain one of the main players in the press distribution market," she told WBJ.

Asked if Empik would take up the retail space abandoned by Kolporter, Marianowicz suggested it was a possibility. "We are interested in selected locations being left by Kolporter and are in negotiations with the owners of the retail space," she said.

Marcin Poznań