Shopaholics take the credit
Galeria Centrum may not be the one benefiting from its heavily promoted sale right now.
Customers are just as flushed with the sale's success with an Optimum credit card, shoppers can buy goods at 15% off retail prices.
Department store credit cards, such as the Optimum card used by Galeria Centrum's customers, are a new trend for Polish shopaholics. "It's a credit card and everybody can get it," said Katarzyna Gorecka, the spokeswoman at Galeria Centrum in Warsaw.
The company behind the scheme is Optimum Finance, which is owned by French-based Cetelem (and serves shops that belong to the Netherlands-based Eastbridge), and the card has been made available in the network of Eastbridge stores such as Galeria Centrum, Smyk and Zara.
Optimum has been issuing cards since last December and they're becoming increasingly popular. "In Poland there is a strong demand for credit in installments, but credit in the form of a revolving card is very attractive," said Jacek Luba, the commercial director at Optimum Finance.
Clients can obtain Optimum cards in Galeria Centrum's customer service office, Luba said. "The cards offer revolving credit instead of giving just one kind of credit, such as for a refrigerator," Luba said.
And Optimum cards are easy to come by. Customers have to provide a statement of their average earnings for the past three months. Galeria Centrum will also ask about family status and education. Each month Optimum sends letters to customers to let them know how much they owe.
The clients sign a credit deal that they are obliged to pay. "If not, debt collecting procedures will start," Luba said. "If we meet a cheat, we are even able to (go to the) prosecutor's office."
Optimum offers credit limits from zl. 5,000 to 10,000, and customers have three options to pay back their debt. These vary from six to 23 months.
Although Luba said the company serves shops that are in the Eastbridge network, it also hopes to win over other customers. Luba said he would be focusing on companies dealing with selling household appliances, hypermarkets, travel agencies and gas stations.
"The market for these types of cards is just beginning," Luba said. He said that although the current market is small, the numbers of people applying would increase next year to more than 100,000.
Although he wouldn't disclose the number of issued cards so far, Galeria Centrum said about 1,000 people had used the Optimum card last Friday alone.
Optimum Finance is not the only company in Poland issuing credit cards, however.
"Lukas was the first company in Poland that offered a product such as Private Label Cards," said Cezary Dzialowski, product manager at Lukas. Wroclaw-based Lukas issued its first cards in April last year.
According to Dzialowski, such cards have a range of benefits. There is the possibility of acquiring revolving credit on the card and also the chance to shop without having to carry money around. Card holders can also adjust repayment plans to suit their private budgets. He said there were also several promotions geared toward customers.
Lukas has, to date, issued several thousand cards. The company calls its cards Private Credit Cards (PKK), and issues them for hypermarkets in Poland at E. Leclerc, Hypernova and Marinom.
While Lukas issues PKK, Warsaw-based FinPlus offers Galia cards. So far the company has customers who shop in the Szron, Chicco, and Alpinus stores.
