Żabka, an $8 billion grocery retailer which has grown meteorically in Poland to a chain of 10,500 franchised convenience stores, first put out the word about a forthcoming stock market launch in Davos in January.

“This company is made for the stock market,” board of directors chair Krzysztof Krawczyk said at the Swiss leadership summit.

On Monday, the company – which was bought by venture capital firm CVC Capital Partners in 2017 – officially announced it intends to float on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

In a document, the grocer laid out its plans for expansion, which are linked to growth in Poland as well as Romania, where the company has recently made purchases.

Styling itself in the document not as a place to buy sliced bread and dog food, but as “a tech-powered convenience ecosystem” with “an advanced digital customer offering,” the chain sees room for more stores.

Some 17 million Poles already live within 500 metres of a Żabka. The company, founded in the western city of Poznań in 1998, envisages further potential for its home market as Poles grow more prosperous.

Poland “is one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, with real GDP growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 2.6% between 2018 and 2023,” the Żabka document tells its investor audience.

“The outlook for Poland is strong with real GDP per capita projected to grow at a 2023-28 compounded annual growth rate of 3.2% (1.9 percentage points above the growth rates forecast for Western Europe).”

The company said it has 20% of the convenience store market, but sells less than 5% of all groceries. This provides it with room to open a further 1,000 stores a year in the growing Polish and Romanian markets. The ceiling of growth is 19,500 stores in Poland and 4,000 in Romania, according to the document.

Tomasz Suchański, the CEO of Żabka Group, commented: “We are delighted to be taking this next step in Żabka Group’s journey, which is the result of the success of our franchisees, the hard work and passion of our people, and a long track record of consistent profitable growth.”

The company will not release any new shares in its IPO, according to reports. Therefore, analysts point out that CVC will be partially exiting its stake in the company, selling a portion of its shares to investors on the Warsaw bourse.

However, Żabka chairman Krzysztof Krawczyk said the fund would still be an active investor in the company.

“We look forward to remaining a supportive shareholder, and see an IPO as the natural next step,” he added.