This is in addition to the 10,000-plus outlets it already has in Poland.
The company also aims to venture into ‘q-commerce’ and establish an online supermarket, according to Żabka's statement. Quick-commerce is a subset of e-commerce that focuses on delivering products to customers as quickly as possible, often within hours of ordering.
“With regard to physical channels, we are planning further expansion of the stationary network, using AI tools to locate more points of sale, guaranteeing very good results for newly opened shops,” the report stated.
Żabka also announced its strategic move beyond Poland with the acquisition of Romania's DRIM Daniel grocery wholesaler, worth €103.8 million, marking a pivotal phase in its expansion strategy.
“We are excited to extend our range of convenience solutions to customers across more Central and Eastern European countries, starting with Romania,” the company stated.
The largest convenience store chain in Central and Eastern Europe debuted in Bucharest at the beginning of May. It now hopes to have 200 stores in the country by the end of the year.
Company origins
Żabka, which is ubiquitous on Polish high streets, was founded in the 1990s by Mariusz Świtalski, a retail entrepreneur from the western city of Poznań, who later sold the grocer to a private equity firm.
Świtalski also started up many of the top food retailers in the country, including market leader Biedronka, before selling them to international players.
Świtalski rapidly made his initial fortune in cash-and-carry warehouses called Elektromis, which were privatized when Poland quickly and sometimes haphazardly transformed into a market economy after the collapse of communism in 1989.
