What's all the talk about?
Warsaw Equity Holding, the 80 percent stake-holder in SMS-Express.com, owner of Gadu-Gadu, is seeking buyers for part or all of its shares in the company.
Up to now, talks with potential buyers have not born fruit. Among those said to be interested are Onet.pl and Interia.pl-one of which was reported to have offered zł.30 million, not enough for the main share holder.
With systems in the U.S. and UK such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger, instant messaging has been a popular form of communication between web-users for years, and signs are that it's gaining popularity in Poland as well.
Instant Messaging systems allow users to send and receive email messages between computers instantly, and read and respond to them in real time. Over the years, features such as file-sharing, games, voice and picture communication and even the possibility to connect to telephones have been added.
The owner's have already ploughed zł.1 million into Gadu-Gadu, which is the market leader in Poland with three and a half million unique monthly users, and one and a half million unique users on a daily basis.
When asked how Gadu-Gadu managed to beat out the competition, the vice president of SMS-Express.com, Krzysztof Szalwa says: "Our popularity is due to the fact that our system is simple and user-friendly."
On message
One particularly popular feature contained in the Gadu-Gadu instant messenger is the possibility to send SMS messages to cellular telephones free of charge. But there have been complaints with users sometimes finding the GSM network unable to deliver their messages.
"You have to remember that we only offer the possibility only to connect to the GSM provider's webpage, so when you have a problem with sending an SMS, it's not due to our services, but to the GSM provider's. Sometimes GSM providers create obstacles for the user sending an SMS in an attempt to limit overuse," Szalwa explained.
Another problem the company has faced this year occurred as a result of its popularity. Information was sent to some users informing them that Gadu-Gadu was a pay service, and that they were required to send an SMS to a specific number in order to activate their account. Some users were charged up to zł.10 for the SMS. Szalwa says: "This information was probably created by a crazy user or troublemaker. When you have so many users, it's very difficult to prevent such problems."
So far, however, these problems have not hindered Gadu-Gadu, which is expecting an increase in profits of 30 percent this year. Eighty percent of those profits come from advertisements embedded in the user interface, with the remaining 20 percent roughly evenly split between the company's direct dial-up service and its mobile-functionality service.
Future strategy
Along with these features, the company claims that their standard product will soon gain new functions, including video-conferencing and connections with telephones, thus opening new opportunities for revenue.
In doing so, Gadu-Gadu won't be the first firm in Poland to offer such services. Already, competitors such as Tlen and Wirtualna Polska have introduced such products.
When asked why Gadu-Gadu's competitors beat them to the punch, Szalwa said: "We didn't offer these services because we had to consider whether they were acceptable for a majority of our users. To keep to our strategy of simplicity and user-friendliness, we had decided not to offer these services. Our competitors offered these services from the beginning because they are trying to break into the market. As the leader in the market, we had to consider how such services would affect our strategy."
Gadu-Gadu's strategy for the future remains equally focused on maintaining their position in the market. Szalwa says: "I think that our worldwide competitors such as Yahoo and MSN Messenger will show the way for the future."
The good news for users is SMS-express.com's commitment to maintaining Gadu-Gadu as a free service. "This is not our idea, and we hope it's not our competitors' idea either. Our strategy is to keep Gadu-Gadu free," says Szalwa.
Up to now, talks with potential buyers have not born fruit. Among those said to be interested are Onet.pl and Interia.pl-one of which was reported to have offered zł.30 million, not enough for the main share holder.
With systems in the U.S. and UK such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger, instant messaging has been a popular form of communication between web-users for years, and signs are that it's gaining popularity in Poland as well.
Instant Messaging systems allow users to send and receive email messages between computers instantly, and read and respond to them in real time. Over the years, features such as file-sharing, games, voice and picture communication and even the possibility to connect to telephones have been added.
The owner's have already ploughed zł.1 million into Gadu-Gadu, which is the market leader in Poland with three and a half million unique monthly users, and one and a half million unique users on a daily basis.
When asked how Gadu-Gadu managed to beat out the competition, the vice president of SMS-Express.com, Krzysztof Szalwa says: "Our popularity is due to the fact that our system is simple and user-friendly."
On message
One particularly popular feature contained in the Gadu-Gadu instant messenger is the possibility to send SMS messages to cellular telephones free of charge. But there have been complaints with users sometimes finding the GSM network unable to deliver their messages.
"You have to remember that we only offer the possibility only to connect to the GSM provider's webpage, so when you have a problem with sending an SMS, it's not due to our services, but to the GSM provider's. Sometimes GSM providers create obstacles for the user sending an SMS in an attempt to limit overuse," Szalwa explained.
Another problem the company has faced this year occurred as a result of its popularity. Information was sent to some users informing them that Gadu-Gadu was a pay service, and that they were required to send an SMS to a specific number in order to activate their account. Some users were charged up to zł.10 for the SMS. Szalwa says: "This information was probably created by a crazy user or troublemaker. When you have so many users, it's very difficult to prevent such problems."
So far, however, these problems have not hindered Gadu-Gadu, which is expecting an increase in profits of 30 percent this year. Eighty percent of those profits come from advertisements embedded in the user interface, with the remaining 20 percent roughly evenly split between the company's direct dial-up service and its mobile-functionality service.
Future strategy
Along with these features, the company claims that their standard product will soon gain new functions, including video-conferencing and connections with telephones, thus opening new opportunities for revenue.
In doing so, Gadu-Gadu won't be the first firm in Poland to offer such services. Already, competitors such as Tlen and Wirtualna Polska have introduced such products.
When asked why Gadu-Gadu's competitors beat them to the punch, Szalwa said: "We didn't offer these services because we had to consider whether they were acceptable for a majority of our users. To keep to our strategy of simplicity and user-friendliness, we had decided not to offer these services. Our competitors offered these services from the beginning because they are trying to break into the market. As the leader in the market, we had to consider how such services would affect our strategy."
Gadu-Gadu's strategy for the future remains equally focused on maintaining their position in the market. Szalwa says: "I think that our worldwide competitors such as Yahoo and MSN Messenger will show the way for the future."
The good news for users is SMS-express.com's commitment to maintaining Gadu-Gadu as a free service. "This is not our idea, and we hope it's not our competitors' idea either. Our strategy is to keep Gadu-Gadu free," says Szalwa.
