Witold Mika
By : Greg Goodale
When Witold Mika took up his course at the Mechanical and Technical Department of Warsaw Polytechnic, he expected to spend his days as a factory engineer in heavy industry. He was spared that career when his brother-in-law suggested they start a business with his sister. They began by selling electronic office equipment but almost instantly saw better potential in the office furniture market. Within months the partners hired their first employee, and within a year of the initial sale, the company employed 12 people, eight of whom are still Absolut employees.
In 1992 two Ukrainian businessmen interested in setting up a showroom in Kiev visited Mika, and from that meeting Absolut became a furniture exporter. The company began exporting to Ukraine and Belarus, while the same year the partners signed their first major contract to import office furniture from Italy. Today, Ukraine and Belarus represent 5% of the companys sales. By its fifth year Absolut had grown to employ more than 100 people and was able to move into a new showroom and office in the center of Warsaw. Since then, the company, which imports some 50% of its sales, has seen revenues grow to more than zł. 40 million ($10 million) in 2000 from less than zł. 10 million ($2.5 million) in 1993.
In 2000 the companys profits reached zł. 2.33 million ($582,000). Next year Mika plans to transform Absolut into a joint stock company. Although he has no plans for a stock market launch in the near future, he said that the added responsibility this will create should motivate him and his fellow board members to take the company a step further.
Past Notes
1989 Graduated from Warsaw Polytechnic
1990 Set up Absolut
1991 Absolut hired its first employees
1992 Absolut began exporting to Ukraine
1995 Absolut moved into its present offices
Word of advice
Our industry is the final link in the investment chain. You could say it is a barometer of the investment climate, an indicator of growth and a reflection of the state of the whole economy.
