Another hard discount store enters Poland

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

A new actor, created by an experienced entrepreneur  Wiktor Sawosz, appears on the Polish discount store market. The first Vollmart hard discount store was opened on Wednesday, February 24 morning in Siedlce, according to wiadomoscihandlowe.pl. The extremely low prices are meant to make Vollmart stand out on the market, with prices at least 20% lower than in other stores, for the entire range of products.

Vollmart will launch an e-store?

The store may turn out to be competition for other discount chains, such as Lidl or Biedronka. The goods will be sold straight from the pallets – additionally, by optimizing the commercial processes, logistics as well as by resigning from expensive and unnecessary equipment, newsletters and advertisements, the chain will provide much lower prices than the other stores. Vollmart is a response to the current difficult economic situation – it is guided by the belief that customers are now more sensitive to prices than during the economic boom.

The first facility opened in Siedlce, at 3 Maja Street, near the city center. More stores are to be located in cities with more than 50,000 residents, in fenced areas, near large streets. The retailer is also expected to launch an e-shop, according to the announcement on Vollmart’s main website.

Hard discount store without fresh products

The store advertises itself with the slogan “Vollmart – full of bargains”. Although Vollmart is just developing in Poland, the German name of the company was chosen to be more universal, as there are plans to expand its operation into other European countries. The assortment of the new facility includes dairy products, cold cuts, meat, sweets, drinks, cosmetics, household chemicals, kitchen articles, household appliances, and pet supplies. The offer will permanently include from 800 to 1,200 products, selected according to customer preferences. For now, however, the store will not offer fresh products – fruit, vegetables, bread – and the meat will only be available packed hermetically.

Wiktor Sawosz, the operator of the company has been associated with the FMCG industry for almost 30 years. He is known as the founder and owner of the Brand Distribution Group. He also has experience in e-commerce – through many years of involvement in the Bialystok bdsklep.pl store, one of the few “pure-online player” entities in Poland.

PMR expert’s view

Agnieszka Skonieczna
Retail Business Unit Director

Discount stores are winning the battle for the hearts (and wallets) of Poles with their convenient locations (increasing number of stores of all chains), a growing offer of fresh products and convenience food, as well as a selected range of non-food products. Discounts are the first choice when it comes to where to buy pet food or tights, according to PMR research.

The Vollmart chain stands in complete opposition to the above. That is why I do not think that it will be able to compete with the largest discount chains on the Polish market (as a matter of fact, it is not known whether it even has such plans). It will certainly reach a certain group of customers, rather in medium and small size cities, than in metropolises, for whom price is the main factor deciding where to buy groceries. Vollmart’s business will be rather niche and local. This has been demonstrated by the example of the Mere discount store, operating in a similar formula, which is developing much more slowly than it assumed in its ambitious plans.

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