PKN Orlen retail strategy envisages network restructuring, station rebranding

Fuel giant PKN Orlen is implementing a restructuring and rebranding strategy aimed at having a gas station in every town and city with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The company plans to achieve its goal without establishing any new filling stations. "The number of gas stations doesn't have to increase. We want to keep a 40% share of the liquid fuel retail sale market without the necessity to increase the number of stations," said deputy CEO of PKN Orlen, Jaroslaw Tyc. Currently PKN Orlen has 1,346 gas stations and 622 franchises across Poland. This year the concern intends to sell and lease around 40 stations, and by 2005 it will spend zl.2.5 billion on the development of its retail network. The process of rebranding more than 1,200 of its filling stations, at a cost of zl.65 million, will be completed by the end of November. The rebranding process aims at bringing all PKN-owned gas stations under its red eagle flag. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 12; Reuters) A.Z.