High entry costs block development of lucrative company data market

There are only a few companies selling data and information about other companies in Poland. "The market is tough, so it is unlikely that we will face new competition. Some of the market players may soon go bankrupt," said a sector representative. There are two broad groups of enterprise that sell information. One of them consists of companies publishing free bulletins. These make a profit by charging companies for advertising space or for an entry. The other group are those which collect the information for free, but charge clients to use it. The first group is dominated by two players, Polskie Ksiazki Telefoniczne (PKT), owned by American Verizon Communications and Norwegian Findeks, and Panorama Firm (PF), owned by a subsidy of Telia Eniro Polska. Both directories have a circulation of about 4.5 million. In the second group, the market leaders are Kompass Poland and Hoppenstedt Bonnier Information (HBI). HBI Polska president, Przemyslaw Berent, says the market is attractive for companies like his, but the high start-up costs dissuade potential competitors. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) M.M.