Wal-Mart to enter Poland, possibly via take over

The company's executive director Lee Scott said in an interview for the Financial Times on Monday that he is rather looking to take over an existing network than start everything from scratch. "The entrance of the Americans will change the distribution of power on the market, but by how much? It all depends whether they will decide to take over a network of hypermarkets or stores of up to 400 square meters in area. Whichever option they choose, the process of consolidation of the sector will accelerate," said Andrzej Maria Faliński of the Polish Trade and Distribution Organization which associates foreign commercial networks in Poland. According to domestic market analysts, the most probable scenario is the acquisition of rather smaller stores or entering as a strategic tenant in shopping malls in smaller cities. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 9) A.K.