Fattening up its portfolio
All is not well at Indykpol, Poland's biggest producer of turkey-meat goods. For the past few months, the company has been losing ground. Its stock price has dropped from its high last year of zł.98.50 to zł.64, and has lost 18 percent in the last three months alone. At the end of 2004, the company revised profit expectations downward by zł.6 million to zł.11.5 million.
Now, revelations that Indykpol's main investor, Rolmex, has been doing some quiet recruiting for a new chain of grill/fast-food restaurants have raised suspicions that the owner of the well-known Złoty Indyk line hopes to save its goose by flying into the fast-food market.
"It's true that we are seeking new interesting channels of distribution for our products," the company said in a statement sent to the WBJ. "The creation of a chain of restaurants is one of the possibilities which we are taking under consideration."
But signs are that preparations for the move are already well advanced. Last week the company transformed Złoty Indyk into a share company, in which Indykpol holds an 80 percent share and Rolmex 20 percent-thus allowing for closer cooperation between the two firms on the project.
"The situation in the domestic and export markets is currently very difficult," Rajmund Paczkowski, president of the Poultry Chamber of Commerce (KRD) told Puls Biznesu. "Creating a new distribution channel, which also guarantees high margins, seems like a move in the right direction."
The question remains as to whether Indykpol can survive against the heavyweight competition of McDonald's and KFC without being slaughtered. "It's not easy to build a brand with such strong competition," warns Krzysztof Kłapa, director of corporate affairs for McDonald's Poland, adding that inexperience could hinder the firm. "They know the food business very well, but that doesn't necessarily translate into knowledge of the restaurant business."
Now, revelations that Indykpol's main investor, Rolmex, has been doing some quiet recruiting for a new chain of grill/fast-food restaurants have raised suspicions that the owner of the well-known Złoty Indyk line hopes to save its goose by flying into the fast-food market.
"It's true that we are seeking new interesting channels of distribution for our products," the company said in a statement sent to the WBJ. "The creation of a chain of restaurants is one of the possibilities which we are taking under consideration."
But signs are that preparations for the move are already well advanced. Last week the company transformed Złoty Indyk into a share company, in which Indykpol holds an 80 percent share and Rolmex 20 percent-thus allowing for closer cooperation between the two firms on the project.
"The situation in the domestic and export markets is currently very difficult," Rajmund Paczkowski, president of the Poultry Chamber of Commerce (KRD) told Puls Biznesu. "Creating a new distribution channel, which also guarantees high margins, seems like a move in the right direction."
The question remains as to whether Indykpol can survive against the heavyweight competition of McDonald's and KFC without being slaughtered. "It's not easy to build a brand with such strong competition," warns Krzysztof Kłapa, director of corporate affairs for McDonald's Poland, adding that inexperience could hinder the firm. "They know the food business very well, but that doesn't necessarily translate into knowledge of the restaurant business."
