Small shops disappearing in Poland

Last year alone, 6.3 percent of small, local shops selling groceries and other goods disappeared from the retail market, finds the report by the Soliditet Polska marketing information company.

“The largest decline was seen in the fish trade,” says one of the authors of the report, Tomasz Starzyk.

“At the end of 2011 there were 808 [fishmongers] operating and 948 the year before. This represents a decline of 14.8 percent,” he adds.

Over the past two years 752 stationary and book shops disappeared. In the fruit and vegetable sector, 11.1 percent closed down.

The report finds that the move by supermarkets to selling more fresh produce, previously a weakness of theirs, has led to a fall in demand for goods being offered by small retail units. (pg)

source: PAP