Run Rabbit Run
No less than 5,640 rabbits have been slaughtered to provide elegant headwear for the Polish athletes, says small hat-making company Polkap from Rzeszów, which won a contract to provide the 470 rabbit-skin hats that will distinguish the Polish delegation in Athens this summer. Meanwhile, Krosno-based furniture producer Nowy Styl will also be making itself felt in Greece. The company is supplying the Olympics with 50,000 plastic chairs.
Polkap CEO Andrzej Bielawski was unwilling to reveal the value of the company's Olympic contract, while Nowy Styl's spokesperson, Krzysztof Duliński, says both Nowy Styl's contracts are worth around half a million euro.
That said, both admit that such contracts bring in little, if any, direct profit, though Duliński is as eager as Polkap's Bielawski to stress that he's "not in it for charity either."
"We view such contracts as an opportunity for cost-free promotion. Obviously the exposure at an event like this is huge," says Duliński.
Whereas at Athens Nowy Styl's main advantage is its ability to compete on price, the company's ability to provide a quick solution - sizeable deliveries had to be supplied within just two months - also landed it a similar deal for the next World Cup in Berlin (which England is going to win).
"Polish firms are fast shedding their reputation for poor quality," said Duliński. He went on to express a view echoed in the Financial Times: Polish companies are now known for being able to deliver swiftly on difficult orders.
Polkap, which has a shop in Berlin, usually supplies hats for hunters, fishermen and high society, as well running a particularly profitable line in orthodox hats for New York Jews. Yearly sales currently amount to around zł.8 million, with hopes for nine million by the end of this year.
But this is by no means the company's first Olympics, Bielawski is anxious to point out. Polkap hats have been hobnobbing with the world's sporting elites since 1992. And the company also fully expects its headwear to adorn the heads of future Polish Olympians.
Polkap CEO Andrzej Bielawski was unwilling to reveal the value of the company's Olympic contract, while Nowy Styl's spokesperson, Krzysztof Duliński, says both Nowy Styl's contracts are worth around half a million euro.
That said, both admit that such contracts bring in little, if any, direct profit, though Duliński is as eager as Polkap's Bielawski to stress that he's "not in it for charity either."
"We view such contracts as an opportunity for cost-free promotion. Obviously the exposure at an event like this is huge," says Duliński.
Whereas at Athens Nowy Styl's main advantage is its ability to compete on price, the company's ability to provide a quick solution - sizeable deliveries had to be supplied within just two months - also landed it a similar deal for the next World Cup in Berlin (which England is going to win).
"Polish firms are fast shedding their reputation for poor quality," said Duliński. He went on to express a view echoed in the Financial Times: Polish companies are now known for being able to deliver swiftly on difficult orders.
Polkap, which has a shop in Berlin, usually supplies hats for hunters, fishermen and high society, as well running a particularly profitable line in orthodox hats for New York Jews. Yearly sales currently amount to around zł.8 million, with hopes for nine million by the end of this year.
But this is by no means the company's first Olympics, Bielawski is anxious to point out. Polkap hats have been hobnobbing with the world's sporting elites since 1992. And the company also fully expects its headwear to adorn the heads of future Polish Olympians.
