Fresh look for Ruch's kiosks

The characteristic green Ruch kiosks scattered all over the country may soon undergo a makeover, as Poland's biggest state-owned press distributor gears up for its December bourse debut and looks to strengthen its position as market leader.

The biggest share of the planned outlays - some zł.239 million - will be sunk into modernization and the development of Ruch's retail network.

"The modernization of the retail network will include changing the old kiosks into new, bigger ones that you can walk into. We also want to have kiosks in the best locations, such as shopping and business centers or airports," says Adam Pawłowicz, Ruch's president for the last nine months.

Currently, Ruch has the biggest retail network in the country at its disposal - it delivers press to 34,000 outlets all over Poland, of which 10,000 operate under the Ruch brand.

Two further fields in which the investments will be significant include the construction of a modern logistical base (zł.148 million over three years) as well as the implementation of new IT solutions (zł.128 million). "The investments will be financed from the share issue, our own resources and loans. At this stage we aren't revealing the value of the issue," Pawłowicz told a press conference.

Apart from the half-billion złoty designated for modernization, the company is also thinking of spending some zł.20 million on takeovers. At the moment, however, Ruch is not negotiating with any entity.

One of the important elements in Ruch's strategy is to make better use of the company's real-estate assets. "With the current situation on the real-estate market, simply selling the plots would be unreasonable," Pawłowicz said. "We'll be looking for partners to help us make the proper decisions," he added.