- Żabka Polska ended the previous year with information about the acquisition of the Romanian distributor DRIM Daniel Distributie. Recently, the first stores under the Froo brand appeared in this country. But these are not the only activities of the largest convenience chain in Poland.
- The owner of Żabka, CVC Capital Partners, is also active and has made further acquisitions.
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The owner of Żabka will be taken over by Comarch. The company wants to leave the stock exchange 
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The frog flies for more. To Romania (photos)
Żabka clearly defines goals
Żabka is about to debut on the stock exchange. He is scheduled to appear on the Amsterdam dance floor in the fall and is working hard for a successful debut. The company's valuation could range from $7.5 to $8 billion.
According to data from the financial statements of Żabka Polska, the company recorded PLN 357.6 million of consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company in 2023, compared to PLN 382.84 million of profit a year earlier.
Last year, the chain opened 1,100 new branches and closed only 107, which means that at the end of the year the Żabka chain had 10,014 stores. The development of the store base translated into an increase in the value of sales to end customers by PLN 2,143 million (2022: PLN 1,514 million). Over the next 5 years, the group wants to open approximately 900 stores per year on average and plans to expand into other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
– In relation to physical channels, we plan to further expand the stationary network, using AI tools to locate additional sales points. We want to attract new customers and increase the frequency of purchases. To this end, we are implementing a number of various initiatives, such as optimizing the store layout, introducing new services and formats, and activities focused on strategic product categories (mainly Quick Meal Solutions products), the company said in the report.
The chain plans to develop digital sales channels by expanding the reach of q-commerce services and an online supermarket (Żabka Jush! and Delio). It will also work on further optimization of the dietary catering offer (via Maczfit and Dietly) and acquiring new customers. The Żappka application will remain the gateway to the convenience ecosystem built by the Group, but at the same time the chain will implement SuperApp – a new, even more extensive mobile application for customers.
Żabka is developing in Poland and abroad
The network consistently pursues the above-mentioned goals. In Poland, the brand announced ambitious plans to transform into a catering chain. The goal is to create a mini-restaurant serving hot snacks in each Żabka store. By the end of this year, 7 thousand. stores throughout Poland are to be rebuilt into Żabka Caffee zones. Moreover, most of the premises will be equipped with a Merrychef oven, which will make the franchise a small gastronomy, and Żabka the largest supplier of street food in Poland. The offer, apart from the snacks we have known so far, also includes fries, nuggets, burgers and pizza, for which special boxes are already prepared.
Żabka also invests in services. In over 10 thousand chain stores you can not only pay bills, buy and register a GSM starter, deposit or withdraw money, send and receive parcels, but also, among others, have your shoes quickly, professionally cleaned and send your smartphone for repair.
Will the chain repeat its success on its first foreign market? Żabka at the turn of May and June this year. launched five branches under the Froo brand in Bucharest, together with local partner DRIM Daniel Distributie. Similarly to Poland, Froo stores are intended to respond mainly to the needs of young, urban customers. The branches will operate in an agency model, similar to franchising in Poland.
– In Poland, we open three stores a day. It is also possible in Romania. We enter this market with this assumption. It won't happen right away, but this is our long-term plan. We would like to maintain the high pace of development that we have achieved in Poland, also on the Romanian market, by opening stores in the capital and other cities. For our future and constantly growing needs, we have rented a large warehouse near Bucharest, which is to handle a large, rapidly growing network – said Anna Grabowska, vice-president of Żabka Group.
Technologies are the key to Żabka's success
Technologies play one of the key roles in achieving the Group's goals. Żabka has expanded cooperation with Microsoft in the field of innovation, focusing on accelerating growth based on artificial intelligence. The partnership assumes strengthening the development of the network using AI in four areas: store efficiency, international development, transformation within the company and data analytics responding to customer needs.
– Digital transformation is one of the strategic pillars of the Żabka Group. The knowledge we derive from, for example, data analysis allows us to expand our convenience ecosystem and increase its operational excellence. Thanks to our partnership with Microsoft, we are ahead of trends on the retail market also in terms of the use of AI. We see great potential for development in this area, comments Tomasz Suchański, CEO of Żabka Group.
As part of the partnership, Żabka will be the first company in Poland to provide 2.5 thousand. its employees with an intelligent assistant – Copilot for Microsoft 365. Copilot embedded in tools such as Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Teams will help them perform repetitive and often tedious activities faster and "free up their time" for more creative activities and the development of digital competences. Assistant, among others will summarize the meeting, help in preparing the content of the e-mail, design a presentation or support employees in effective planning of the week.
Żabka will create a marketing company
The group is active on many fronts and will soon prove itself in another field. Together with Berbenno, Żabka Polska submitted an application to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to establish a joint venture whose activity will consist in providing marketing and communication services to Żabka and its business partners (suppliers), including consulting and analytical activities.
Berbenno's activities conducted through its subsidiaries focus on providing comprehensive marketing, digital and e-commerce services.
The owner of Żabka also takes over
CVC Capital Partners is also expanding its portfolio, and the decisions made by the fund may also benefit Żabka. Through the company Aspa sp. z o. o., CVC is purchasing shares of the Polish IT company Comarch, which thus wants to leave the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Comarch is one of the largest IT companies in Europe, conducting projects for leading brands from Poland and around the world in the most important sectors of the economy. Comarch's clients include: Auchan, Carrefour and Heineken.
The fund also purchased from Cinven, the main shareholder of Allegro, a controlling stake in Partner in Pet Food (PPF), one of the largest food producers in Europe. PPF in Poland includes Białystok's Mispol, which has four production plants and exports to over 20 countries.
CVC also owns, among others, by Stock Spirtis.
