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Polish 'patriotic' brands?


Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #1
ekonomia.rp.pl/artykul/775538,1025864-Cudze-chwalicie--swego-nie-macie.html

This week Uncle Sam is everywhere in US adverts and the media are running a list of the 'most patriotic' American brands, as perceived by surveyed Americans. The list is headed by Jeep, followed by Hershey's, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss, Disney, Colgate and Zippo.

The Rzepa author noted that many Polish brands did not survive in the aftermatch of transformation (think Nysa, Żuk, Unitra, Cora, £ucznik, Polonez, etc.).

Those that have made it in post-PRL Poland have included Pesa, Frugo, Mokate, Ziaja, Reserved and Solaris.
Some brands have survived only because they were bought out by world biggies adn include :E. Wedel, Wawel, Prince Polo, Pudliszki, Winiary, E, Ixi i Kokosal, Żywiec adn Okocim.

Do you foresee the growth of original, indigenously Polish products and brands or are Poles doomed to be mainly a nation of mercenaries in the employ of foreign capital?
Barney  17 | 1671  
3 Jul 2013 /  #2
This week Uncle Sam is everywhere in US adverts and the media are running a list of the 'most patriotic' American brands, as perceived by surveyed Americans.

Who makes the waterboards?
OP Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #3
Now, now! I don't think you are criticisng 'the home of the brave and the ladnof thre free' (words from the national anthem). You surely mean surfboards!
Barney  17 | 1671  
3 Jul 2013 /  #4
I don't think you are criticisng 'the home of the brave and the ladnof thre free'

I'm not criticising the Empire just pointing out that in most of the world and especially Europe brands and patriotism are not synonymous. Certainly there are good Polish products there is even a thread about them.
newpip  - | 139  
3 Jul 2013 /  #5
There are good Polish brands, however, Poland pushes the "foreign branding" idea to the limit. The majority of Polish owned companies all have English names.
Polson  5 | 1767  
3 Jul 2013 /  #6
Do you foresee the growth of original, indigenously Polish products and brands?

TYMBARK, which is part of the Maspex Group, producer of juices, nectars, and beverages.

"Tymbark juices can be found on the tables of 30 countries around the world, including in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Belarus, USA and Canada."

tymbark.com/en,o-tymbarku,o_firmie.html

HORTEX, produces frozen food and fruit juices

"we have been the largest Polish exporter of frozen fruits and vegetables as well as fruits and vegetable mixes. Our target customers include, most of all, Russia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus. However, the main export directions of our juices, drinks and nectars comprise the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada."

hortex.com.pl/en/about-us/market-position

BLACK RED WHITE, furniture manufacturer.

"Black Red White group invests more than 40% of its sales abroad. The range of the Group are available, in addition to the Polish market, in more than 40 countries around the world, eg .: Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus , Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Scandinavia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, New Zealand, UK or Canada. "

brw.com.pl/black-red-white/o-firmie

MASPEX, or the long version Grupa Maspex Wadowice, "is one of the biggest companies in Central and Eastern Europe in the segment of food products."

"For over 20 years on the market, the Maspex Wadowice Group has completed 16 such acquisitions, including 9 of them abroad.

Brands like Tymbark, Kubuś, Lubella, Puchatek, Ekland, DecoMorreno, Cremona, La Festa and Plusssz are undisputed leaders in their categories, they enjoy trust of consumers not only in Poland, but also in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Products of Maspex Wadowice Group are sold to almost 50 countries worldwide. The company cooperates with consignees in the European Union and other European countries, in the US, Canada, in the Middle and Far East."

en.maspex.com/maspex,maspex-wadowice-group,3.html

DELPHIA YACHTS, Poland's largest manufacturer of sailing boats.

"The rapidly growing market for sailing and motor boats in both retail and trade sectors has resulted in great demand for our products with western European markets accounting for 98% of Delphia's export sales.

Demand for Delphia's products has increased year on year as the result of a flourishing and dynamically developing dealer network extending as far as the USA, Russia, Japan and Australia."

en.delphiayachts.eu/history

GTC GROUP, real estate developer.

"The Group's portfolio comprises: (i) completed office buildings and office parks as well as retail and entertainment centres (commercial real estate); (ii) residential projects; and (iii) undeveloped plots of land (including suspended projects) (landbank)."
"currently operates in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia and Ukraine."

gtc.com.pl/?s=17&lang=en

FAKRO, one of the world's leading roof window manufacturers.

"The company is the most dynamic and fastest growing roof window manufacturer in the world."
"Today FAKRO roof windows are sold across the whole of Europe and throughout the world."

fakro.com/about-us/fakro-today

ASSECO GROUP, IT corporation.

"Asseco Group operates in most of the European countries as well as in Israel, USA, Japan, and Canada."
"Asseco Group companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange as well as on the American NASDAQ Global Markets. Asseco Group offers comprehensive, proprietary IT solutions for all sectors of the economy. Own solutions account for over a half of Asseco Group total sales revenues. This puts Asseco Group among the top ten software vendors in Europe ("Top 100 European Software Vendors" ranking published by Truffle Capital in December 2012)"

asseco.com/company/company-profile

Poland seems to concentrate, in priority, on Central and Eastern Europe markets (which makes sense, considering its location). But some of these brands developed much farther.

Oh, and just for my own pleasure, here's another one ;)
leopardautomobile.com
(it's actually Swedish-Polish, but who cares, really?).
polforeigner  
3 Jul 2013 /  #7
All "Polish" brands are foreign capital owned to some extent.
OP Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #8
Anyone know which of the above-mentioned companies has a Polish majority stake?
That is important because Poles take the decisions and the profits are not mainly transferred to outside investors.
It's difficult to deny the Poles' anglomanic propensities. Mickiewicz wrote (in Pan Tadeusz): 'Co Francuz wymyśli Polak polubi..'. Now that can be updated with the substitution of Anglosas or jankes....

Why is it that Poies display so little pride in ownership, in their own innovations and recognisably Polish products and brands? One would think that after being kept down by foreigners (partitions, Hitler, Soviets) for so many years, they would want to assert their own identity and diaplay more national pride? Even the concept of 'patrtioic brands' is a US import.
Polson  5 | 1767  
3 Jul 2013 /  #9
Anyone know which of the above-mentioned companies has a Polish majority stake?

Can't be sure for all of them, Maspex seems to be 100% Polish tho. One of the few Polish 'monsters'.

The majority of Polish owned companies all have English names.

Why is it that Poles display so little pride in ownership, in their own innovations and recognisably Polish products and brands?

If we're just talking about brands' names, I may have an explanation. A brand name, generally, needs to be short, easy to remember, recognisable. And Polish is not the easiest language as you may know (I mean for foreigners of course). Grzybowski & £ukasiewicz International will probably not sell as much as -let's say- Tesco, Walmart, Amazon.
OP Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #10
Grzybowski & £ukasiewicz

Indeed, and Chrzęszczykiewicz & Przybyszewski would also go over like a lead baloon. But there are also names that are both Polish and pronounceable (occasioanlly Latinised): Varsovia, Cracovia, Polonia, Polonaise, Masovia, Tatra, etc.
Polson  5 | 1767  
3 Jul 2013 /  #11
Chrzęszczykiewicz & Przybyszewski

This one is cool ;)

But there are also names that are both Polish and pronounceable (occasioanlly Latinised): Varsovia, Cracovia, Polonia, Polonaise, Masovia, Tatra, etc.

As you said, the least Polish it is, the more it will sell :P
Apart from 'Polonaise', which is French, the rest is Latin (or Italian).
Cracovia and Polonia are football clubs (the founders probably knew some basic in marketing ;)).
And isn't Tatra a beer? *checking, checking* Yes it is.
OP Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #12
And isn't Tatra a beer?

Yes, and it was also a Czech-built car -- a large rear-engine job. Don't think they made it into post-communism, but the make was already around in the interbellum period.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_600
Polson  5 | 1767  
3 Jul 2013 /  #13
Yes, and it was also a Czech-built car

I saw that too. Anyway, the Czechs still have Skoda.
How come the Czechs have such a big car brand, such famous beers, such good sportsmen? For such a small country... Is it some sort of German influence over the past centuries?

Not sure how I can explain this. Before the two big wars, the Czech Republic was one of the most modern countries in Europe. While Poland's economy was still vastly agricultural, the Czech(oslovak) economy was very industrial already. I'm thinking it has something to do with Germany... Your thought?
OP Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jul 2013 /  #14
I hadn't realised the Tatra was produced past the mid-1990s. A rather imrpessive looking vehicle.

google.pl/search?q=Tatra+T700.+gallery&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=K17UUYS7Icj3sgbE5oGoBA&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=853&bih=551into

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