Local merchants target hypermarkets

According to Roman Dera, president of the National Association of Trade and Services (a part of FOK), small shops need protection. The number of small shops in Poland is dropping due to the development of large retail outlet chains, he toldRzeczpospolita.

A second bill encompassing restrictions for large-scale outlets is being prepared by the "Cheetahs of Business Club," an organization comprising over 500 local companies. "The free market itself will not stop the expansion of these supermarkets. Administrative barriers are needed," the president of the club, Jerzy Krajewski, wrote in an official statement.

The previous law on large-scale retail centers was introduced by the former Law-and-Justice-led government in 2007. It required investors in outlets whose sales areas exceeded 400 sqm to obtain special approval from the local authorities. The law was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Tribunal in July.

Legal restrictions on large-scale shops are not an effective means to protect local retailers, according to Małgorzata Machnicka, head retail analyst at PMR. "Poland does not have much space for large hypermarkets anymore," she said.

Despite the encroachment of hypermarkets, small local retailers still enjoy huge popularity in  Poland, Machnicka noted.