Can Społem transform itself into a modern retail giant?

At the moment 4,000 Społem branches belonging to various independent companies, owned 100% by Polish capital, employ over 50,000 people and post revenues of zł.7 billion. After consolidation they will create the second largest retail chain after German giant Metro AG (Makro, Media Markt and Real). Społem's profitability does not look impressive when compared to Tesco (revenues of zł. 5.5 billion from 102 outlets) or Biedronka (revenues of zł.5.4 billion from over 800 outlets). Społem's strengths are the various size of its outlets and their even geographical distribution - 96% of them are located in towns and city centers or housing estates. The consolidation process is to be completed within 3-4 years. Samopomoc Chłopska, another relic of the past, with 9,000 outlets has also been flirting with consolidation plans. (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 3-4, p.28; Parkiet, p. 8) J.L.