Out of the ashes for Łódź?
Singling the city out as the leader in offshoring services among the country's main metropolitan areas, the report points to the potential for the industry to revitalize Łódź, which has seen nearly a tenth of its inhabitants depart for greener pastures over the last 15 years. Once boasting a population of more than 900,000, the city has seen that number fall by nearly 100,000, as high unemployment, low wages and poor municipal infrastructure have driven the inhabitants out, with most of them heading to Warsaw, just 100 kilometers to the northeast.
The situation has the authorities shopping around for a solution, hence city hall commissioning the consultancy to come up with a plan to revitalize the troubled metropolis. But investors see little commitment to making improvements on the ground. For while the lack of Class A office space, modern warehousing and infrastructure is understandable in a city starved of funds, the inefficient bureaucracy is much less easy to stomach.
Marta Jurek-Maciak, senior valuer at Polish Properties, a Warsaw-based real estate consultancy, cites ongoing difficulties with extracting information out of local authorities, even when there are willing investors looking for opportunities.
"There's no coordinated process for connecting investors and available properties," she says, adding, "Sometimes when I call [authorities in Łódź], I get the runaround. My calls are transferred. I'm told I must come and visit them personally. It seems there's no motivation for city workers to help investors."
The mood in Łódź city hall is one of desperation. Even former Prime Minister Leszek Miller's connections to the city, and his efforts to funnel funds there, failed to make any difference. To add to the low spirits, the pride of Łódź, local soccer club Widzew, is facing relegation from the top division.
"Łódź has no time to lose," urges Mayor Jerzy Kropnicki. He has, therefore, seized the gauntlet thrown down by McKinsey and is in negotiations with the company to come up with a plan specifically tailored to the city's needs, a plan known as 'Łódź: City of New Technology.'
"There are certain matters you have to turn over to the professionals," Kropnicki acknowledges, referring to the city's arrangement with McKinsey, of which any specific details are not available as negotiations are still ongoing.
Many are hopeful for Lódź's success, including the Łódź Business Club, an association of businesses in the area that, in partnership with public relations company Pabler, is working with the city to convince everyone that Łódź is the best place to locate businesses using new technologies. Investments, such as Philips' new accounting center, and banks, such as MultiBank and mBank, are cited as prime examples of successful relocations to the city.
Besides near-shoring centers involved in accounting and IT, Łódź also offers logistics parks and warehouses operated by firms such as Onninen, Ikea, Cassino, Unilever and Rossmann, as well as boasting appliance manufacturing plants owned by Merloni and Bosch, reveals Monika Głowacka, manager of the tourism section at Łódź's Office of City Promotion. She adds that the city is an ideal place in which to invest, since it occupies a highly central location near the intersection of the future A1 and A2 highways. Plus, Łódź has a large base of skilled and highly educated people, making for an inexpensive and effective workforce for potential investors. However, whether her words will lead to any major uptake among investors remains to be seen.
The situation has the authorities shopping around for a solution, hence city hall commissioning the consultancy to come up with a plan to revitalize the troubled metropolis. But investors see little commitment to making improvements on the ground. For while the lack of Class A office space, modern warehousing and infrastructure is understandable in a city starved of funds, the inefficient bureaucracy is much less easy to stomach.
Marta Jurek-Maciak, senior valuer at Polish Properties, a Warsaw-based real estate consultancy, cites ongoing difficulties with extracting information out of local authorities, even when there are willing investors looking for opportunities.
"There's no coordinated process for connecting investors and available properties," she says, adding, "Sometimes when I call [authorities in Łódź], I get the runaround. My calls are transferred. I'm told I must come and visit them personally. It seems there's no motivation for city workers to help investors."
The mood in Łódź city hall is one of desperation. Even former Prime Minister Leszek Miller's connections to the city, and his efforts to funnel funds there, failed to make any difference. To add to the low spirits, the pride of Łódź, local soccer club Widzew, is facing relegation from the top division.
"Łódź has no time to lose," urges Mayor Jerzy Kropnicki. He has, therefore, seized the gauntlet thrown down by McKinsey and is in negotiations with the company to come up with a plan specifically tailored to the city's needs, a plan known as 'Łódź: City of New Technology.'
"There are certain matters you have to turn over to the professionals," Kropnicki acknowledges, referring to the city's arrangement with McKinsey, of which any specific details are not available as negotiations are still ongoing.
Many are hopeful for Lódź's success, including the Łódź Business Club, an association of businesses in the area that, in partnership with public relations company Pabler, is working with the city to convince everyone that Łódź is the best place to locate businesses using new technologies. Investments, such as Philips' new accounting center, and banks, such as MultiBank and mBank, are cited as prime examples of successful relocations to the city.
Besides near-shoring centers involved in accounting and IT, Łódź also offers logistics parks and warehouses operated by firms such as Onninen, Ikea, Cassino, Unilever and Rossmann, as well as boasting appliance manufacturing plants owned by Merloni and Bosch, reveals Monika Głowacka, manager of the tourism section at Łódź's Office of City Promotion. She adds that the city is an ideal place in which to invest, since it occupies a highly central location near the intersection of the future A1 and A2 highways. Plus, Łódź has a large base of skilled and highly educated people, making for an inexpensive and effective workforce for potential investors. However, whether her words will lead to any major uptake among investors remains to be seen.
