Digital lanDscape: polanD

DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

Polish
internet market accelerates
I edItIon, january 2008
online advertising v e-commerce v Biggest internet players
v Western investors v Market drivers and constraints

 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

Table of Contents

In brief....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 03

1. Poland at a glance .................................................................................................................................................................................... 04

1.1 Internet penetration . ..................................................................................................................................................................... 04.
1.2 Internet users ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 04.
1.3 Online advertising ........................................................................................................................................................................... 04

2. Market overview: biggest players. .............................................................................................................................. 05

2.1 Advertising bureaus and advertising networks................................................................................. 05.
2.2 Biggest online players................................................................................................................................................................... 06.
2.3 Interactive advertising agencies.................................................................................................................................. 10

3. E-commerce.............................................................................................................................................................................................................12
3.1 Online auction platforms......................................................................................................................................................... 12.
3.2 Online shops................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12.
3.3 Polish online shopper.................................................................................................................................................................... 14.
3.4 Threats and concerns..................................................................................................................................................................... 18

4. Market trends in brief...........................................................................................................................................................................19

4.1 New surge of foreign investments........................................................................................................................... 19.
4.2 Going public................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21.
4.3 Investment frenzy................................................................................................................................................................................ 21.
4.4 Interesting facts....................................................................................................................................................................................... 21

5. Getting started: setting up a company in Poland.............................................................................22

5.1 Types of business activity........................................................................................................................................................ 24.
5.2 Tax and inspections........................................................................................................................................................................... 24.
5.3 Competitive landscape............................................................................................................................................................... 25

6. Views on Poland...............................................................................................................................................................................................26

7. About Internet Standard ...............................................................................................................................................................28


 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

In brief
This first edition of Digital Landscape: Poland report is the most comprehensive study prepared by .
a leading online magazine Internet Standard. It gives a unique overview of the Polish internet
industry, showing major market players, current and future investment plans, and online adspend
forecast. Covering advertising, e-commerce as well as ways of starting a business in Poland, this
report is an indispensable study for anyone interested in finding out more about investment
opportunities in the country. Digital Landscape: Poland gathers investors and industry leaders’
comments on the country’s development, providing a fresh view on the latest issues.



1. Poland at a glance
Poland, member of NATO (since 1999)
and the European Union (since 2004),
has a population of about 38 million
people. Gross domestic product per
capita in Poland was estimated to be
16,500 USD in 2007. According to the
European Commision the level of
economic growth in the country was
forecast to reach 6.1% in 2007.
Warsaw and Cracow are two main cities
where internet companies have their
headquarters. More and more online
business appears in Wroclaw (south-
west of the country) and Gdansk (north
part of the country).
Internet penetration
According to SMG/KRC NetTrack
research, internet penetration in
Poland was around 42%. That means
there were 12.8 million internet users
(over 15 years old). Another research
provider Gemius/PBI estimated that
there was in fact a population of 14.09
million users in the country (May
2007).
Internet penetration rate
in Poland in Q2 2007 was
42%
Eurostat’s latest available data on
broadband penetration in Europe comes
from July 2006. At that point, broadband
penetration rate in Poland was only 3.9%
compared with 16.5% average in the
European Union. That number most
probably increased in 2007. Thanks to
bitstream access the competition on the
ISP market is increasing. According to
Eurostat, in January 2007, 53% of Polish
companies had broadband internet
accesss, when average in European
Union is 77%.
According to UKE (Urząd Kontroli
Telekomunikacji – Telecommunication
Ministry) there were 1.7 million

DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
broadband connec-
tions (above 144 kb/s)
in October 2006.
Internet users
There is about the same
number of male
(50.8%) and female
(49.2%) users. Young
people (15-24 years
old) form the largest
group of internet users.
Those who are 60 years
old or more represent
only 2.1% of the Polish
internet population.
Polish users are
generally well edu-
cated. 26.6% of them
have university degree,
41% - have completed
their A levels.
Over two thirds of Polish
users surf online every
day or almost every day.
They go online mostly at
home (79.4%).
64,8% of Polish users go
more than 5% of all media adspend in
the country.
online every day
IAB Polska forecasts that in 2007 internet
adspend reached 305 million PLN (84.5
Online advertising million EUR) and search engine marketing
Interactive Advertising Bureau Polska (IAB revenues rose up to110 million PLN (30.5
Polska) estimates that in 2006 internet million EUR). According to these estima-
advertising market was worth 215 million tions online market was worth 415 million
PLN (60 million EUR), excluding search PLN (around 115 million EUR) in 2007.
adverstising. Unfortunately, Google does
not disclose its revenues, which makes Polish internet advertising
the process of estimating the value of the market in 2007
market quite difficult. Nevertheless, IAB is estimated to be worth
Polska prompted that paid search
advertising could have been worth 60 115 million EUR
million PLN (16.6 million EUR) in 2006.
That makes a total market value of 275 Online market grows dynamically at a
million PLN (76 million EUR), which pace of 50% per year and it is the fastest
means that internet advertising has growing sector among all media.
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

2. Market overview: biggest players

Google is the most popular website in
Poland (it is visisted by 77% of Polish users
every month). The second most popular
internet destination is Onet.pl, a web
portal owned by a large media group ITI.
Gazeta.pl, owned by Agora, is the most
popular newspaper-based website with
a monthly coverage of around 42%.
When it comes to the numer of page
views, it is Allegro.pl which generates
the highest numbers. Allegro (an
auction platform) is owned by Tradus
(former QXL ricardo).
Fotka.pl - a social networking and
dating website – has gained a lots of
popularity recently and generates more
than 2 billion page views per month.
awarded Media&Marketing Best Internet
Sales Department Award for three times
in a row. Currently there are 500 websites
in their portfolio..
Ad.net employs 28 people.
ARBOmedia Polska
ARBOmedia Polska is one of the biggest
internet advertising networks in the
country. It gathers round 300 websites
(with a reach of 11.7 million of unique
users according to Megapanel PBI/
Gemius 2007). Their portfolio consists
mainly of entertainment, music and
games websites targeting young
internet users. In cooperation with one
of the global online advertising networks
– Oridian - ARBOmedia Poland facilitates
ads for English-language business, sports
and youth websites.
ARBOmedia Poland was founded in 2002.
The acquisition of one of their rivals –
Qnet - was a turning point in company’s
history which provided them with a
bigger online reach than the main web
portals had. In 2005 ARBOmedia Poland
introduced its own product: double
billboards, which is one of the most
popular online ad formats in Poland now.
BizOn Media.
BizOn media works as a business-
focused advertising network in Poland
specializing in targeting entrepre-
neurs.The company is relatively new
and was founded in 2006. It has a
reach of 2.6 million users. They gather
45 high-profile websites. BizOn media
has been developing its direct sales
department, but still its core clients

In terms of time spent on the website,

Google.pl and Onet.pl lead the way in
the rankings.

Polish most popular instant messenger

is Gadu-Gadu, owned by Gadu-Gadu
S.A. (a company listed on the Warsaw
Stock Exchange). Gadu-Gadu is used by
round 6 million people monthly.

Advertising bureaus and

advertising networks
There are quite a few advertising
networks and advertising bureaus
operating in Poland. We are presenting
some of them.

Ad.net.
Ad.net was one of the first Polish internet
advertising networks, established in
2000. It is a part of Internet Group S.A.
holding. From the very beginning Ad.net
was focused on incorporating new
technologies and empowering their
technological capabilities. After being
very successful in Poland, they decided to
expand their business in Latvia, Lithuania
and Estonia. They claim to have 9.74%
share of the Polish market. Ad.net was


 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

are the biggest Polish media houses.
Since its foundation, over a year ago,
the company has launched over 500
campaigns.
IDMnet
IDMnet was established in 1997 and
was the first online advertising network
in the country. They gather over 140
websites and are able to reach over 5.5
million users.
IDMnet uses DoubleClick adservers.
They specialize in building advertising
strategies and search marketing
campaigns.
Biggest online players
There are thousands of internet firms
operating in Poland. We decided to
present only those which are perceived
as one of the biggest on the market
and which investors will most probably
hear about while considering their
expansion in Poland.
advertising, paid content services,
email and hosting, auction platform,
community sites, telecommunication
services. Onet.pl is estimated to have
37% of total market share in Poland. It
is also one of the strongest brands in
the country.
Wirtualna Polska (WP)
Wirtualna Polska is the second biggest
and the oldest web portal in Poland,
part of Telekomunikacja Polska/ France
Telecom Group. It provides a multime-
dia and telecommunication platform
offering news, entertainment, finance
services, blogs, chatrooms, e-business
solutions and free e-mail.
In 2006 WP launched internet TV (wptv.
wp.pl) – the biggest multimedia project
in Polish internet. In 2007 WP started to
operate as MVNO (Mobile Virtual
Network Operator). WP’s monthly
average reach is 62% (H1’07).
Allegro.pl / QXL Poland
Allegro is the biggest auction platform
in the country run by Polish offices of
British holding Tradus (former QXL
ricardo) which was acquired by
Naspers, a South African media
company, in December 2007. For the
year ended 31 march 2007 Tradus
generated 36.43 million GBP revenues
(vast majority of it came from Eastern
Europe). British holding owns not only
Allegro but also PayBack (which runs
Payback.pl, otomoto.pl, otodom.pl) and
Ceneo S.A. (which runs a price compari-
son site Ceneo.pl)
Interia.pl SA
Interia.pl runs one of Poland’s biggest
web portals. The firm was established
in 1999 as a result of an online joint
initiative of IT and technology
producer - ComArch S.A. - and a radio
station RMF FM. In December 2000
Interia’s stock was allowed to public

Google Polska
Google was founded in the USA in 1998
and developed rapidly, outpacing top
internet companies and becoming the
world’s most popular search engine.
The key to Google’s success is quality
and relevance of information. Polish
users appreciate Google search engine
- it is the most popular website in the
country. That was one of the reasons
why the company decided to open its
office in Warsaw in January 2006. In
2007 Google established a R&D centre
in Krakow and an innovation centre in
Wroclaw (Poland).

Grupa Onet.pl S.A.

Grupa Onet.pl runs Poland’s biggest
web portal - Onet.pl and also provides
various media and communication
services. Grupa Onet.pl is part of the
leading Polish media group – Grupa
TVN (TVN S.A., TVN is listed on Warsaw
Stock Exchange). .
Onet.pl is a pioneer in the income
diversification among Polish web
portals. It generates revenues from



trading and since February 2001 the
firm is listed on Warsaw Stock .
Exchange. In December 2007 Bauer
Media Invest GMBH bought the
majority of Interia’s shares, taking
control of the company.
Internet advertising sector is the main
area of the company’s activity. The
rapid growth that can be observed in
that sector is taking place mostly at the
expense of other media existing on the
market.
Interia.pl is the third biggest internet
portal in Poland in terms of reach.
O2.pl sp. z o. o.
O2.pl, established in 1999, is an owner
of o2.pl web portal, which offers free
email services and an instant messen-
ger (Tlen.pl). The company claims to
have 7 million registered email
accounts and 1.5 million instant
messenger users. Tlen.pl messenger
and Tlenofon (VoIP product) have won
the Gold Computer 2005 competition
organized by Computerworld. O2.pl is
the fourth fastest developing technol-
ogy company in Central Europe
according to the 2006 and 2007
Deloitte ranking.
Agora S.A. (owner of Gazeta.pl).
Agora, one of the biggest media
companies in Eastern Europe, owns a
web portal Gazeta.pl, Gazeta
Wyborcza, one of Poland’s most
popular dailies and Metro - a free
newspaper. Agora Group also runs
AMS, the outdoor advertising, two local
radio stations Zlote przeboje and Roxy
FM, a cross regional radio station TOK
FM as well as manages 13 magazines.
Agora was establshed in 1989. Since
1999 it has been listed on the stock
exchange in Warsaw and in London.
Gazeta.pl is visited by 5.2 million users.
Agora’s two thematic vortals, GazetaP-
raca.pl (recruitment website) and
GazetaDom.pl (real estate website) are
one of the most popular websites in
their categories. GazetaWyborcza.pl is
one of the largest online newspapers in
Poland.
Gadu-Gadu S.A.
Established in 2000, Gadu–Gadu S.A. is
a company which provides telecommu-
nication and communication services
as well as multimedia and social
networking websites. Gadu–Gadu
instant messenger is regarded as the
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
most popular tool in the country (even
to that extend that user’s ID has the
same importance as a telephone
number or email address). Gadu Gadu
launched social networking commu-
nity MojaGeneracja. pl, Gadu Radio,
VoIP services Gadu naGłos, microblog-
ging Blip.pl and education portal
Nauka.pl.
Gadu Gadu S.A. employes round one
hundred people. In the first three
quarters of 2007 Gadu-Gadu S.A.
generated 14.370.000 PLN (3.98 million
EUR) net income and 5.153.000 PLN
(1.42 million EUR) net profit.
The company is listed on Warsaw Stock
Exchange [GGU]. In December 2007
South African media company Naspers
bought the majority of shares of Gadu
Gadu SA.
Interaktywna sp. z o. o.
(owner of Fotka.pl)
Interaktywna sp. z o.o., established in
February 2001, runs Fotka.pl and other
websites including auction platform.
Fotka.pl employs 36 people in three
offices: in Warsaw, Elblag and Gliwice. It
is the biggest community website in
Poland with 5.5 million registered users.
The company broke-even a few years
ago. The forecast of their income for
2007 was over 4.5 million PLN. Accord-
ing to Alexa.com, Fotka.pl is 5th
popular website in Poland and 86th
worldwide.
IDG Poland S.A. (owner of IDG.pl,
Computerworld.pl, Pcworld.pl,
InternetStandard.pl, NetWorld.pl) IDG
Poland S.A. is a Polish subsidiary of
American publishing office International
Data Group. It runs IDG.pl - the biggest IT/
new technologies webportal in the
country. IDG.pl also owns: PcWorld.pl –
webportal dedicated to PC users.
InternetStandard.pl – leading internet
industry magazine, Gamestar.pl -
computer games website, Computer-
world.pl – portal dedicated to IT special-
ist, and dozens of others. Internet

 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND



Top Digital Media Agencies in Poland
Fastbridge
Beyond Interactive
Starcom Next
ZED Digital
MRM Worldwide
OMD Digital
ACR
Source: Internet Standard
Standard, part of IDG Poland S.A is also a
popular conference organizer. Business
conferences attract hundreds of
businessmen in the country.
IDG Poland S.A. also publishes B2B IT
magazines (CMO, CXO, CIO, NetWorld,
Computerworld) and B2C magazines
(PC World Komputer, Computerworld,
Kino Domowe Magazyn DVD).
IDG.pl Group is visited by 3 million
users monthly what makes it one of the
20 most popular destinations among
Polish internet users.
Travelplanet.pl
Travelplanet.pl is a countrywide
internet travel agency listed on
Warsaw Stock Exchange. It is a
member of the Polish Chamber of
Tourism. The Travelplanet.pl Group
runs also Aero.pl (airplane tickets
provider), Hotele24.pl (hotel booking
provider) and TravelPass Polska (a
firm distributing Travelplanet.pl
vouchers).
http://www.initiative.pl
http://www.gobeyond.pl/
http://www.next.starcom.com.pl/
http://www.optimedia.com.pl/
http://www.mrm.pl/
http://www.omd.pl/
http://www.acr.pl/
Gemius S.A.
Gemius S.A. is the largest online research
agency in Central and Eastern Europe.
The company has been providing online
market analysis since 1999. In 2004,
Gemius started operating in Czech
Republic after wining a tender for
internet audience measurement
services. Later Gemius continued its
expantion in Central and Eastern Europe
launching its branches in Slovakia,
Hungary, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia,
Estonia, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and
Bulgaria. In 2006, Gemius entered
Russian, Dannish and Austrian markets.
Grupa Pracuj
Grupa Pracuj runs recruitment and
education websites in Poland and
other countries in CEE. (Polish recruit-
ment site Pracuj.pl and Ukrainian
Rabota.ua, Edu.pracuj.pl targeting
specialists and Edulandia.pl targeting
students). Grupa Pracuj has also
organized Virtual Job Fair and Virtual
Education Fair it is a founding member
of The Network, the largest alliance of
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
independent recruitment sites with
websites from 60 different countries.
Grupa Pracuj employs 190 people
working in the central office in Warsaw
and in regional offices located in
Bydgoszcz, Gliwice, Krakow, Lodz,
Poznan, Sopot and Wroclaw. In 2007
Grupa Pracuj was recognized as the
twelfth fastest growing IT company in
Central and Eastern Europe, and one
of the 500 fastest growing IT compa-
nies in Europe.
Money.pl
Money.pl, established in 1997, is one of
the most popular Polish financial web
portals with nearly 2 million users every
month. It provides news and commen-
tary on finance, law, labour market, real
estate, business and politics. In 2006
Money.pl generated a net profit of
nearly 1.3 million PLN (360 thousand
EUR); with revenue of 11 million PLN (3
million EUR), which means that during
five years (2001-2005) portal’s revenue
increased by 1428%. Money.pl was on
the 7th position in the ranking of the
most dynamically developing compa-
nies in the Central Europe (“Technology
Fast 50” by Deloitte).
In 2006, a German publishing house
Handelsblatt (Verlagsgruppe Han-
delsblatt), member of Georg von
Holtzbrinck media group became
Money.pl’s strategic investor.
Currently, the company employs over 60
people. It’s based in Wroclaw, but part of
the team works in Warsaw as well.

 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

Bankier.pl S.A. tion on personal funds, investing, calculators and comparisons of

Bankier.pl S.A. is one of the leading capital markets and financial financial products offered by nearly
media companies focused on finanse products. Bankier.pl gives its users 50 financial companies.
sector. It runs Bankier.pl, a web an access to a current stock ex-
portal providing financial informa- change quotes, experts analysis, The Bankier.pl Group owns six web
portals: Bankier.pl, Twoja-Firma.pl,
PIT.pl, VAT.pl, PRNews.pl and
Top Polish Interactive Agencies
Mojeauto.pl (with1.73 million
Name Web address unique users).
180 Heartbeats http://www.180heartbeats.pl/
Since June 2006 Bankier.pl S.A. has
Adv.pl http://www.adv.pl/ been listed on the Warsaw Stock .
Ars Thanea http://www.arsthanea.com/ Exchange.
Artegence http://www.artegence.com
Grono.net
BeeStudio http://www.beestudio.pl/ Grono.net is an invitation-only
Byss http://www.byss.pl community service which gathers
groups of friends and families (over 1.3
Click5 http://www.click5.pl
million registered users). Users can
Conecto http://www.conecto.pl/ load pictures or video onto their
Cookie http://www.cookie.pl/ profiles and the website has currently
over 15 million pictures. Grono.net is
Digital One http://www.digitalone.pl/ available in Polish, English, Spanish,
Emarketing Experts http://www.emarketingexperts.pl/ French, German and Italian language
Engine http://www.engine.pl/
versions.

FFCreation http://www.ffcreation.com/ In September 2007, Intel Capital

Genero http://www.genero.pl/ announced its plans to invest in .
Grono.net. The firm employs over .
Hint Intermedia http://www.hintintermedia.com/
60 people.
Honki http://www.honki.pl/
HYPERmedia http://www.hypermedia.pl/ MCI Management
MCI Management is an investment
Insignia http://www.insignia.pl/
group managing venture capital and
Internet Designers http://www.id.pl/ private equity funds, including:
Isens http://www.isens.pl/ TechVentures’99, TechVentures’03,
MCI.BioVentures, MCI.EuroVentures
Janmedia http://www.janmedia.pl/
and MCI.SuperVentures. It has been
K2 Internet http://www.k2.pl/ listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange
Madonet http://www.netizens.pl/ (with present market cap around 1
billion PLN) since February 2001. MCI
Max Weber http://www.maxweber.com/ Management SA specializes in
Media Ambassador http://www.mediaambassador.pl/ investments within the region of
Central and Eastern Europe. It mainly
MindChili http://www.mindchili.pl/
invests in innovative companies
MRM Worldwide http://www.mrm.pl/ operating in the area of internet,
Netarena http://www.netarena.pl/ mobile telephony, e-commerce,
wireless technologies, software, IT,
Opcom http://www.opcom.pl/
biotechnology/life science and
OS3 Multimedia http://www.os3.pl/ media.
Pro-Creation http://www.pro-creation.pl/
Merlin.pl S.A..
Zjednoczenie.com http://www.zjednoczenie.com.pl/
Merlin.pl is one of the oldest and
Source: Interaktywnie.com, own biggest online shops in Poland

10

(operating since April 1999). It mainly
sells books, films, music, games,
computer programs and toys. It is
visited by round 100,000 users every
day. In 2004 Merlin.pl was acclaimed
the fastest growing company in
Central Europe by Deloitte & Touche.
In 2005 Merlin.pl launched its first
offline shop.
NetSprint.pl Sp. z o. o.
NetSprint.pl runs a search engine. The
company was established in 2000 and
was the first firm which introduced the
top-notch search engine technology
to Polish market. NetSprints’s key
customers and partners include both
Poland’s major horizontal portals as
well as international corporations. In
2004 the company was ranked
seventh in Deloitte’s Fast 50 ranking of
the fastest-growing high-tech
companies in Central Europe. In 2006
Orkla Media, a Norwegian media
group acquired the majority of
NetSprint’s shares.
SARE
SARE specializes in offering e-mail
marketing services (e-mail cam-
paigns, newsletters, bulletins). It
works with over 200 clients (e.g.
Media Markt, Siemens, Kofola
Holding, Danone, Lexus, G+J, Bauer).
It claims to be the largest email
marketing company in the country.
Nasza-Klasa Sp. z o. o.
Nasza-Klasa.pl is a social networking
website (Polish equivalent of Class-
mates). It was launched in November
2006 and within a few months gained
an enormous popularity. At the end of
2007 it had more than 6 million
registered users, and became one of
the biggest social networking
websites in the country. In September
2007 European Founders, a venture
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
capital firm invested a few million PLN
in Nasza-klasa.
This list of the companies mentioned
above certainly does not exhaust the
database of important internet firms
in Poland. There are key enterprises in
the region like Panorama Firm - the
biggest yellow pages website in the
country, epuls – one of the most popu-
lar social networking websites, Empik.
com – online shop or NetPress Digital -
electronic publications distributor.
Future editions of this report will
include more top business initiatives
in the country.
Interactive advertising
agencies
There are more than 1000 interactive
agencies in Poland. We present just a
few top ones, according to Interakty-
wnie.com ranking (pleace see the table
”Top Polish Interactive Agencies”).
11
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

3. E-commerce

According to the estimates released
by Interactive Advertising Bureau
Polska, from 2001 to 2006 Polish e-
commerce market grew by over
4500%. The highest growth rate was
seen in 2000-2004 when Polish online
retail trade sales increased by 200%
per year. The value of the market in
2006 was estimated to be 5 billion
PLN (1.39 billion EUR). Online auction
platforms generated 3 billion PLN,
online shops had a turnover of 2
billion PLN (500 million EUR). Accord-
ing to the latest estimations pub-
lished by Rzeczpospolita, Polish
online shops and auction platforms
generated 8 billion PLN (2.22 billion
EUR) in 2007.
for three quarters of 2007 Allegro’s
total transaction value was already
10% higher than total results for 2006.
Although Allegro.pl is still perceived as
an auction platform, almost 80% of all
transactions are made without
bidding; the reason being that a
number of small shops (traditional and
online ones) treat Allegro.pl as one of
their selling channels. This trend will
be even more prominent in the future.
The second popular auction platform
is eBay, which appeared on the Polish
market in 2005. In 2006 sales reached
100 million USD, but in comparison
with Allegro.pl it is a rather poor result.
Polish eBay managed to find its own
niche – thanks to the integration with
foreign platforms, and users can buy
and sell goods not only in Poland but
also in 28 other countries.
Online shops
The catalogue run by Sklepy24.pl
currently contains information about
3,300 Polish online stores divided into
12 groups. Home & Garden makes the
largest category; there are another
four significantly big groups: Health &
Beauty, Gifts & Flowers, Electronics &
Photo and Computers. There are not
many Polish shops selling food, only a
few from 77 listed in the catalogue

Polish market is significantly bigger

than Irish, Portuguese or Greek. In 2006
internet sales in Austria and Denmark
were comparable to Poland’s. Swiss
results were a bit lower than Polish
revenues. eMarketer expects that over
the next five years European e-
commerce market will grow at an
annual growth rate of 25%. Central and
Eastern European countries, especially
Poland, Czech Republic and Russia are
expected to be a driving force of that
growth at the beginning of the next
decade.

In 2006 Polish online sales for the first

time exceeded 1% of total domestic
retail trade value. According to the
Polish Market Review (PMR) forecast,
in 2009 this proportion may go up by
over 2%.

Online auction platforms

Since 2005 about 60% of Polish e-
commerce sales have been made by
transactions performed on auction
platforms . The indisputable online
auction leader in Poland is Allegro.pl.

In 2006 the total value of completed

auctions reached 2.5 billions PLN and

12
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

The value of the Polish

e-commerce market in 2006
was estimated to be
8 billion PLN (2.22 billion EUR).

13
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

offer fresh food (e.g. Frisco.pl). Apart

from e-shops, there are over ten
online travel agencies (e.g. Travel-
planet.pl) and financial product
brokers (e.g. Bankier.pl) on the
market.

Not many Polish online stores reveal

their financial results, but it is very
likely that those who decide to do are
the leaders. In 2006 Merlin.pl gener-
ated the biggest revenues in Polish
B2C e-commerce. Merlin.pl is one of
the oldest online shops, which sells
mainly books, music, toys and
electronics. Agito.pl and Hoopla.pl
offer electronics and home appliances,
Komputronik.pl distributes computers
and computer parts whereas Oponeo.
pl is the largest Polish online store
with tyres and car accessories.

Few years ago virtual shopping arcades

in popular web portals played an
important role in Polish e-commerce.
Now, it is comparision sites that have
become the sources of information about
stores offers and prices for the growing
number of Polish internet users. The
most popular Polish site of that type is
Ceneo.pl, which had almost 1.7 million
unique users in August 2007 (according
to Megapanel PBI/Gemius). Ceneo.pl
currently allows to compare about 1.7
million offers from 700 shops. The second
place belongs to Nokaut.pl, which in
spite of significantly bigger catalogue (4
million offers from 788 shops) is a bit less
popular.

Polish online shopper

According to data published by Eurostat,
in 2006 one in eight Poles and one in
four Polish internet users did their online
shopping at least once. This proportion
places Poland on 17th position in the
European ranking, next to Slovenia,
Czech Republic and Slovakia.

A slightly higher proportion of men

then women do shopping online. The
highest discrepancy occurs in the age
group of 25-34 and in the income
groups declaring monthly net income

14
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

15
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

In 2006 one in
eight Poles and
one in four Polish
internet users did
their online
shopping at
least once.

16
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

17
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

higher than 2 000 PLN (550 EUR).

SMG/KRC report shows that in 2006

Polish online shoppers bought mainly
books and clothes, then mobile phones,
computers and electronics. Compared to
2005, in 2006 significantly more shoppers
were interested in car accessories, toys
and children’s accessories as well as
airline, train and bus tickets.

Last year statistical Pole spent 47

dollars on online shopping, more
than the Greeks or the Portuguese
but still considerably less than
average citizens in Western Europe.
Statistical resident of Denmark
(where in 2006 e-commerce sales
was comparable with Polish e-
commerce revenues) spent seven
times more in online stores than a
Pole.

Polish internet users pay for ordered

products mainly in cash on delivery.
Last year 23% of orders were paid by
cards and 7% - by other forms of
payment (e.g. bank transfers). Poles
rarely use cards because they are
concerned about security or do not
have a card allowing them to pay over
the internet. In 2006 only 5.6 million
from 24 million existing cards could be
used for online transactions.

Threats and concerns.

At the beginning of 2007, one third of
respondents (According to Gemius
Survey) claimed that the biggest
problem with online shopping was
long delivery time. One sixth had
troubles with finding products and one
eighth complained about poor
customer service. What is important, it
that nearly a half of respondents
experienced no problems while
shopping online.

Polish e-commerce in brief

From 2001 till 2006 Polish e-commerce market grew by over 4500%
The value of the market is estimated to be 8 billion PLN in 2006 (2.22 billion EUR)
Online auction platforms generated 3 billion PLN in 2006 (830 million EUR)

4. Market trends in brief
Polish internet market can be consi-.
dered a mature one with local compa-
nies having very strong market
positions. Although foreign big players
start their operations in Poland it has
proved difficult for them to outplace
local firms in a short period of time. A
good example is eBay, which entered
Polish market in 2005 and is still behind
local auction platform - Allegro.pl.
Allegro is the 4th most popular
destination in Poland whereas eBay.pl
remains below Top 20.
There is a similar situation with instant
messengers: local Gadu Gadu leads the
way attracting more than 5 million
users per month whereas Skype still
remains second best with 3 million
users.
The only example of sudden and
undisputable victory is Google which
became the most popular website in
Poland. What is interesting is to observe
how quickly YouTube.com is climbing
up through the popularity rankings (in
August 2007 it was the 10th most
popular online destination in the
country). It is worth mentioning that
Polish language version of YouTube
was one of the first European editions.
Google provides most of its services in
Poland, including Google Docs and GMail.
One of the few exceptions is Google
News, still not available in local language
version. Global gigiant has even decided
to open a Research & Development
Centre which is based in Krakow as well as
client service branch in Wroclaw.
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
New surge of foreign
investments
What created a lot of stir on Polish
market recently were two announce-
ments: both MySpace and AOL decided
to open their offices in Poland. At the
moment MySpace is in the process of
hiring staff for marketing and content
management departments. Interest-
ingly, MySpace is perceived as one of a
few international companies which
stands real chances of conquering
Polish market.
Other international social networking
players (Hi5 and Bebo) are trying to enter
Polish market, but they will have to face
very strong competition. There are
already local firms: Fotka.pl (with more
than 3 million users a month), Moja
19
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

Polish internet market accelerates

Major changes in 2007
January • Gazeta.pl (Agora S.A.) acquires Wrocek.pl - a social networking site about Wroclaw city.
February • Bankier.pl S.A., owner of the financial web portal, acquires MojeAuto.pl, car classifieds website.
• Grupa Onet.pl S.A. acquires blogging site Blog.pl.
March • Onet.pl starts to sell advertisements on its portal on time basis, like in TV.
• Gadu-Gadu S.A., owner of Polish most popular instant messanger goes public .
(IPO at Polish Stock Exchange - Gielda Papierow Wartosciowych).
• Gemius S.A., online reasearch firm starts its operations in Romania and Bulgaria.
• Gadu-Gadu S.A., starts operating in Ukraine.
• German Holtzbrinck ventures investment fund invests in Pixelate Ventures, owner of ePuls.pl social networking site.
April • Onet.pl launches Zumi.pl - mapping and yellow pages site.
• MCI venture capital investment fund invests 1.5 mln PLN in Netpress Digital, e-press distributor.
• TVN Group (one of the biggest private TV stations in Poland) launches TVN24.pl, news site run by more .
than 40 editors.
• Pino.pl (social networking portal) acquires Blogi.pl (blogging website).
• Launch of Business Angels Seedfund. It announces to spend 15-30 million PLN (4-8 million EUR) .
for investing in start-ups.
May • Gadu-Gadu S.A. acquires Nauka.pl, education website.
• Merlin.pl, one of the biggest internet shops, acquires Presco Media owner of e-cyfrowe.pl, online shop with digital cameras.
• Agora announces that it will open a new multimedia newsroom which will combine exisiting radio .
and internet newsrooms.
June • Hoopla.pl announces that it will debut on stock exchange (IPO).
• Onet.pl launches Onet.TV, video website.
• Google launches Polish version of YouTube.
• Gadu-Gadu S.A. acquires Blip.pl, micro-blogging website.
• Onet.pl S.A. announces its partnership with Opera Software.
July • Research: 66% of Polish internet users have tried shopping online, it’s the biggest percentage in Eastern Europe.
• Wykop.pl, Polish start-up based on DIGG.com idea, receives 600,000 PLN fund (around 165,000 EUR).
• Launch of Polish language version of Bebo.com.
• Pracuj.pl, biggest recruitment website in Poland, launches Profeo.pl, social networking site for employees, .
a competitor to Goldenline.pl.
• Gadu-Gadu S.A. acquires Fora.pl, a discussion website.
August • AOL announces that it will open Polish version of its portal at the end of 2007.
• Wirtualna Polska, second biggest internet portal becomes a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).
• Gadu-Gadu celebrates its 7th birthday.
• Agito.pl, an e-shop, announces its plans of initial stock offering (IPO).
September • Tomasz Lis, one of the most influential Polish TV journalists, quits his job at TV station and starts his TV-show online.
• Nasza-Klasa.pl - a small social networking service with a very dynamic growth rate, receives a funding .
of a few million PLN.
• Agora (owner of Gazeta.pl) acquiers BlogFrog.pl - a blogs search engine.
• Oponeo.pl S.A., online shop with tyres, announces that it will debut on stock exchange.
• o2.pl Sp. z o.o., one of Polish main web portals announces that it will launch 8 new sites by the end of 2007.
October • MySpace Poland announces that it will start operations in next few months. It starts recruiting for Polish offices.
• G+J company, publisher of Polish edition of „National Geographic” and lifestyle magazines buys Odyssei.pl,.
travel website.
• Wirtualna Polska introduces behavioral targeting advertising.
• o2.pl Sp. z o o. launches Pinger.pl, micro-blogging service, which is a direct competitor to Blip.pl, owned by .
Gadu-Gadu S.A.
• First edition of Polish MIXX Awards takes place (best interactive campaigns are awarded).
December • Bauer Media acquires Interia.pl, a web portal. Cost of acquistion is over 200 million PLN (55 million EUR)
• Agora becomes an exclusive partner of Bebo’s social networking website in Poland.
• AOL starts Polish version of its web portal - AOL.pl
• Naspers, South African media company acquires Tradus PLC, owner of Allegro.pl for 1.9 billion USD .
(about 1.3 billion EUR).
• Naspers buys 66.7% shares of Gadu Gadu, Polish most popular instant messenger.

Generacja (with more than 2 million users
a month), Nasza-Klasa.pl (with more than
6 million registered users), Grono.net
(with more than 1 million users a month),
ePuls.pl (with round 600 thousand users
a month), which are doing very well and
which may prove very difficult to
compete with.
Going public
Many Polish firms made public offerings
in 2007. There are already a few compa-
nies which have been listed on the stock
exchange in Warsaw for many years
(Interia, Agora). Last couple of years has
shown that more and more firms find
stock exchange a very tempting way for
finding new resources for business
development. Hence, Bankier.pl S.A.,
Gadu-Gadu S.A., Travelplanet S.A. and
many more firms went public.
Investment frenzy
It goes without saying that year 2007
should be called ”a year of investments”.
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
The amount of venture-capital invest-
ments and acquisitions has not been Year 2007 should
seen in Polish market before. There are
many traditional firms buying small and
be called ”the year
medium size internet companies to gain of investments”.
market advantage or online entrepre-
neurs widening their portfolios and
That amount of
increasing revenues from the internet. venture-capital
There is also more seed fund initiatives
which are looking for promising new
investments and
starters (see more in a table listing major acquisitions has
events in Poland in 2007).
not been seen
Interesting facts: on Polish market
• Main web portals have launched
special versions of their websites to
before.
cater for Polish immigrants who are
living in the UK and in Ireland • Fotka.pl, a local social networking
• Polish branch of MSN has only one website, has more than 2 billion page
employee views
• Most of main Polish web portals • eBay Poland tried two times to
launched their own society gossip outpace local competitor - Allegro.pl,
websites (eg o2.pl started Pudelek.pl, but with no success so far
Gazeta.pl runs Plotek.pl , Interia.pl • All of the main web portals have TV/
owns Pomponik.pl) video sites.
21
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

5. Getting started: setting up a company in Poland

It will be an exaggaration to say that
Poland has become a titbit for investors
from all industry sectors but when it
comes to the internet it goes without
saying that the online market attracts
more and more foreign capital. ”The
perception of Poland in the Western
world has changed,” Chris Modzelewski,
CEO at Emerging Analysis Corporation
said. Modzelewski is an owner of Eastern
Europe’s largest online media research
agency - Gemius - and was one of the
early investors in Polish online market.
„Poland is no longer viewed as the ‘wild
post-communist east’ where only big
risk-takers go. Today, Poland is an
extremely attractive location for
investment with the largest domestic
market in the CEE region (excluding
Russia), tamed inflation, a highly
educated workforce and an economy
growing at 6.5% annually,” he added.
Poland then.
”Many Polish users who had already
used American or German online
auction websites sent inquiries to eBay
head quarters asking when Polish
platform was due to be open,” Alina
Prawdzik, country manger at eBay
Poland recalled. Poland is the only
country in Central and Eastern Europe
that eBay is present in but conquering
this market proved to be a hard nut to
crack. Although eBay claims to have
done a thorough market research
before launching a Polish platform, it is
clear that initially they underestimated
the sophistication and competetive-
ness of the local environment.
2008 is going to bring more interesting
moves on the Polish market. Internet
gigants like Myspace and AOL are
opening their offices in the country as
well as smaller SEM and advertising agen-
cies from the CEE region. What drives big
and small businesses there is the market
potential and a relatively quick return of
investment.
Investing in Poland has become much
easier and much frequent recently. The
Polish Information and Foreign
Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) estimates
that all foreign direct investment in
the country in 2006 was at an all time
high of 14.7 billion USD (this amount
covers all industry sectors). A few
important factors attract foreign

There are quite a few foreign compa-

nies operating in Poland already. In
1999 British online consumer trading
platform Tradus (former QXL ricardo
plc) opened a Polish branch - QXL
Poland - which runs the leading online
auction platfom Allegro.pl. In the last
quarter of 2006 all the Tradus invest-
ments in CEE brought 9 million GBP
revenues (the vast majority of them
came from Poland). Tradus employs
around 350 people in Poland whereas
there are only 10 members of staff in
the UK and they are mainly focused on
controling and consolidating financial
data, PR and fullfilling stock listing
obligations.

At the end of the 90s. various entrepre-

neurs (mainly local companies) invested
in internet firms because of a tempting
perspective of lucrative profits during the
dot com boom. Another big surge of
investments in Poland appeared in 2005
when global firms started opening their
branches in CEE. Google and eBay were
one of the major firms which settled in

22
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

23

capital to Poland: market size, rela-
tively low employment costs, econom-
ic growth and the availability of
human resources.
Types of business activity
The process of opening a branch in
Poland has been modernised since
Poland entered the EU. In August 2004
The Economic Freedom Act was
introduced which made the process of
setting up a business easier (thanks to
cutting down the number of documents
required). However, it is still far from
ideal.
Nigel Adams, managing director at Nigel
Adams & Company Ltd who has been
working with Poland since 1972 as a
governmental advisor knows perfectly
well that starting a business in Poland
means going through a lot of paper-
work. What one has to be prepared for is
a large number of documents required
which need to be signed and stamped.
”Most British directors and managers
feel that the amount of red tape in
Poland hampers their companies’
efficiency and leads to extra costs,” Nigel
Adams said. Arjan Bakker, a Dutch
businessman who runs Polish offices of
Allegro shares this view. In his opinion,
24
the procedures should be shorter, easier
and friendlier like in many other EU
countries.
”Registering a joint-stock company
(‘spolka akcyjna’) in Poland was not a
problem per se. However, it is impor-
tant to remember that the process is
much more difficult than in the United
States. In America I can register a
company in less than 24 hours over the
internet. In Poland, the process takes at
least one month. But if one is under-
standing of this fact, and has a good
attorney to handle the formalities, it is
no more or less difficult than register-
ing a company in any other country”,
Chris Modzelewski explained.
There are initiatives to shorten the
process of registering a firm in the
country. The Polish Information and
Foreign Investment Agency reveals
that a system which will handle
submitting online applications should
be available by the end of 2008. It
should definitely speed up the
registration process.
Investors who plan to start a business in
Poland are provided with a wide choice
of forms of business activity: civil
partnership (spółka cywilna), registered
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
partnership (spółka jawna), limited
partnership (spółka komandytowa),
limited joint-stock partnership (spółka
komandytowo-akcyjna), professional
partnership (spółka partnerska), limited
liability company (spółka z ograniczoną
odpowiedzialnością), joint-stock
company (spółka akcyjna), branch office
(oddział), representative office (przed-
stawicielstwo) or just simply an entry in
the business activity register (wpis do
ewidencji działalności gospodarczej).
Jarosław Chałas, managing partner at
Chałas and Wspólnicy chambers
prepared a useful investor’s guide for
The Polish Information and Foreign
Investment Agency (the document
which gives a clear overview of the legal
procedures and provides some
recommendations is available here:
http://www.paiz.gov.pl/index/
?id=4f8bc5ac1dc2b49434efe9e72f183
de8). According to Chałas and Wspóln-
icy, the best choice for large firms which
plan to operate in Poland is to set up a
limited liability company or joint-stock
company (there is an entry fee of 1000
PLN (277 EUR) and a requirement of
50,000 PLN (13850 EUR) initial capital
contribution if one is interested in
opening a limited liability company or a
500,000 PLN (138500 EUR) contribution
for a joint-stock company). Those who
would prefer to limit operation costs
should definitely consider starting a
branch or a representative office.
Tax rates and inspections
All entrepreneurs need to apply for their
NIP (taxpayer identification number)
and REGON (statistical number). Another
important step is to register with the
Social Insurance Office (ZUS).
Each firm is obliged to pay value added
tax (VAT) as well as corporate income
tax (CIT). CIT has gone through a lot of
changes throughout the years,
dropping its value from 27% to19%. All
taxpayers have to submit a monthly tax
return form to the tax office. Apart from
the monthly reports each firm has to
send a final tax settlement by the end
of March each year.
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

Smaller entrepreneurs can take adventage of „tax

credit” which means that they are entitled to income
tax deferral during their first tax year. What is also
tempting is a relief from submitting tax returns
during the same period of time.

From time to time entrepreneurs may expect

inspectors to come to their firms. By law authorti-
ties cannot carry out more than one inspection at
the same time in the same business. Such visits are
limited – inspectors cannot stay longer than four
weeks if they examine smaller or medium size firms;
inspections in larger companies are limited to eight
weeks.

Competitive landscape
Polish online market has developed organically
without the presence of Yahoo!, AOL or MSN in its
early years. Although global online gigants like
Google or eBay have started operating in the
country not long time ago it was not as easy for
them as one may think to gain high market
positions. „The most dangerous misstep that
investors may take is underestimating Polish local
competitors, or (even more dangerously) underesti-
mating the sophistication of the Polish consumer,”
Chris Modzelewski warned. Many western firms
forget that Polish users have access to the same
products or services as westerners.

Many investors confirm that competitive landscape

makes entering Poland just as difficult as entering
any other foreign market in Western Europe. „Like
any country in Western Europe or Asia, entering
Poland demands creative strategies to realize the
country’s potential,” Modzelewski added.

Alina Prawdzik who runs Polish offices of eBay

knows from experience that users expect even
more from foreign firms than from local ones.
„Satisfying Polish consumers is possible, but it’s not
an easy task,” Prawdzik stressed. That is why it’s best
to dig as much information as possible about local
competitors before facing them directly.

Investment projects in Central & Eastern Europe were particularly labour intensive.
While Central and Eastern Europe attracted only 26% of investment projects, they ben-
efited from 51% of the new jobs created by foreign investors.
This represented an average of 217 jobs per project, compared with 64 jobs per project in
Western Europe. Poland was the largest creator of FDI jobs, with almost 15% of the total.
EUROPEAN ATTRACTIVENESS SURVEY, 2007 BY ERNST & YOUNG

25

6. Views on Poland
Nigel Adams
Managing Director at Nigel Adams & Company
Ltd, Visiting Lecturer at University of Buckingham,
Great Britan
I have been working with Poland since 1972 and lived
in the country from 1993 until 2002 as a British Govern-
ment “Know How Fund” Management Adviser, so I have
seen many, many changes. I find the country fascinat-
ing to work in and despite many years of experience, I
always tell my clients that they should “Expect the
unexpected!” I also warn my client companies to expect
more bureaucracy and more regulations than in a
British company. However, I also tell them that, on the
whole, in Poland they will find very hospitable people
who are great to work with.
Most British directors and managers feel that the
amount of “red tape” in Poland hampers their compa-
nies’ efficiency and leads to extra costs. In addition, the
need to report and pay corporate taxes, and VAT
monthly is an extra cost they think should be removed.
The high social security costs and the very strong
employment regulations were accepted when Polish
labour rates were very low, but I think that as Polish
wages are increasing significantly, these costs and
regulations will not encourage future investment in
Poland by British companies.
On final point, the British will never get used to the
need for all documents to be signed and “stamped”.
This is just not necessary in Britain, for example in
Britain a company will accept a commercial order over
the phone from a regular customer, by accepting an
“Order number”. No contracts, signatures or stamps are
needed!
. introduce internet to the rural parts of the country to
Massimo Burgio
Co-chairman of the Global Committee at SEMPO,
Founding Member of Sempo Europe, Sempo
Latino and a frequent speaker at SES, Italy/USA
Poland has a very vibrant, passionate and professional
community of online marketers. I have always observed
Polish market, especially search engine marketing
sector with curiosity. The early presence of local search
engines used by millions of users, as well as local web
26
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
portals, current, well developed e-commerce and social
media environment are all signs of a healthy online
market.
There are a lot of advantages for investors in the CEE
region and I cannot see any major constraints of its
development. The language fragmentation of the CEE
countries can be an issue and can make it difficult .
to decide to target the region at large with local
approach. .
.
Alain Heureux,
President of IAB Europe and IAB Belgium
I think that Polish Interactive Advertising
Bureau will be playing a role of a “bridge”
between Eastern and Western Europe. Broadband and
technologies are not always there yet in Poland but the
creativity certainly is. The European IAB Network is
gaining more value thanks to Poland.
.
Jan Jilek
CSO at Xclaim.hr, Vice President at Interactive
Marketing Association, Croatia
In my opinion Poland has the biggest
potential in CEE. .
I believe that in 3 years’ time Poland will jump from the
regional avarage to the first place in terms of the online
market growth. The only thing which may affect its
development is a slowing growth rate of an internet
penetration. I think that it may be necessary now to
maintain current pace of growth.
.
Martin Kovac
Country Manger at ETARGET a.s., Slovakia
With the population of almost 40 million
people Poland is the strongest and the most
attractive market in CEE. It will remain the biggest player in
the region having overseas money shaping its development..

Chris Modzelewski
CEO at Emerging Analysis Corporation, owner of
Eastern Europe’s largest online media research
agency Gemius, one of the earily investors in
Polish online market, USA
My first investments in Poland were in 1999 when I established
Gemius (Central & Eastern Europe’s leading internet research
agency). In 1999 Poland was a much stabler location for invest-
ment than in 1991 (when I first visited the country), but I still saw it
as far riskier than other countries I could invest in. Today, just a
short 8 years later, Poland is an entirely different country. The rule
of law is stronger and corruption is less endemic.
The Polish internet market has a tremendous potential.
With close to 40 million people, dropping internet access
prices, rapidly growing penetration and advertising
budgets shifting online, Poland is one of the most
attractive internet markets in Europe today. Its „potential”
- which from a western perspective can be seen as the
ability to generate both domestic profits and provide
lower costs - is attractive to investors, but they should
enter the market with open eyes and be very sensitive to
the local reality.
From the perspective of western internet players,
Poland is different. Poland’s internet industry evolved
(at least in its early years) in its own local reality. This
shaped the competitive landscape very differently than
what many western players would expect based on
experiences in the United States or Western Europe.
Western investors considering how to tap into Poland’s
internet potential should bear this fact firmly in mind
and approach the market respectful of Poland’s suc-
cesses in the past 10 years.
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
Right now the main market constraint to consider is the
competition in the labour sector. Poland’s educated
workforce and especially its excellent software developers
are highly prized by high-technology companies from
around the world. This combined with strong domestic
macroeconomic growth is driving up wages and competi-
tion for the most talented workers. While this benefits
Poland, it is a factor that investors looking at Poland have
to consider carefully. Why should someone build a
development center in Poland if they’ll have to recruit
staff (or open another center) in Ukraine to find talented
employees?
The other constraint to consider when investing in Poland
is the competitive landscape. A sophisticated market that
evolved organically without significant infusions of
western capital, strategy or brands has a very different
competitive landscape than some westerners might
expect. This is not so much as a „constraint” as it is a
warning to investors: if you’re going to invest in Poland,
do your homework first. .
.
.
Eric Urdahl,
Head of International Business, AD Europe, Germany
Polish online market is the most important one in CEE in terms
of pan-European online campaigns for our international
network AD Europe. We have been experiencing the strongest
growth rates since 2005.
Interest in Poland has grown since the country entered the
EU. Poland has good penetration rates and broadband cover-
age. This fuels its online advertising market and also attracts
more European advertisers.
27
 DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

7. About Internet Standard

About the authors:

Michał Grzechowiak
Michał started working at IDG Poland in
2007. Previously, as a journalist of
„Magazyn Internet”, a Polish magazine for
internet users, he used to cover many
aspects of the web. In Internet Standard he focuses on
writing case studies on Polish online firms to ”E-biznes
od kuchni” (”E-business uncovered”) section as well as
providing business news. Apart from working for IDG
Poland, Michał studies economics at University of
Warsaw..
.
E-mail: Michal_Grzechowiak@idg.com.pl

Anna Meller
Anna joined IDG Poland team in 2000. At the beginning
of her career she worked for PC World Komputer,
covering stories on artificial intelligence, new online
trends and future of the web. Later (after the dot com
bubble burst) she moved to Internet Standard, where
she focused on the business aspects of the internet. She
helped to revive the online business community
gathered round the title. Anna is responsible for writing
reports and news. She is also involved in organizing
Internet Standard businesss conferences. Anna studied
Polish and English literature and linguistics at Gdansk
University in Poland. She likes jazz music, hiking and
reading books. .
.
Email: Anna_Meller@idg.com.pl

Production team:
Piotr Zalewski
Piotr has been working as an online editor
at IDG Poland since March 2006. He mainly COVER.
covers new trends and business aspects of Grażyna Stefek.
the internet. Piotr is responsible for .
editorial content of Internet Standard. He writes news Design.
and articles, and also helps with organizing confer- Anna Karabon
ences. He is in charge of the development of the new
design of magazine’s website. Piotr studied social DTP.
psychology. He is interested in new technologies, Beata Miętus
media and skiing..
. CHARTS.
Email: Piotr_Zalewski@idg.com.pl Adam Sienkiel

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Advertising
Anna Stando.
Email: Anna_Stando@idg.com.pl.
Tel. +48 22 321 78 00
Internet Standard conferences
Agnieszka Świtkowska.
Email: Agnieszka_Switkowska@idg.com.pl
Internet Standard
InternetStandard.pl is a leading Polish online magazine
published by International Data Group Poland S.A. .
It is visited by more than 200,000 users monthly (real users,
Megapanel Gemius/PBI), among them there are top internet
industry leaders, managers, directors, advanced web users.
Internet Standard is focused on business and social aspects of
the internet. Online magazine runs its Online Expert Forum
and business conferences, which are very popular in the
country.
International Data Group
International Data Group (IDG) is the world’s leading technol-
ogy media, events, and research company. IDG’s online
network includes more than 450 web sites spanning business
technology, consumer technology, digital entertainment, and
video games worldwide. IDG publishes more than 300
magazines and newspapers in 85 countries including CIO,
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND
CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Macworld,
Network World, Internet Standard and PC World. IDG’s lead-
generation service, IDG Connect, matches technology
companies with an audience of engaged, high-quality IT
professionals, influencers, and decision makers.
Each month, over 80 million unique visitors visit the more than
450 websites of IDG’s online network. To ensure that IDG
online audiences have access to rapidly updated information,
IDG’s online network is supported by more than 2,000
journalists and the only 24-hour global technology news
organization, the IDG News Service, which reports the latest
technology news from its bureaus around the world. IDG has
built the broadest network of technology content online and
reaches more technology buyers than any other media
company.
IDG produces more than 750 globally branded confer-
ences and events in 55 countries. Industry leading
international events include Macworld Conference & Expo
and LinuxWorld Conference & Expo. IDG’s LinuxWorld
events are now found in nearly 20 countries on five
continents. Leading conferences include CIO 100, DEMO
and IDC Directions. IDG produces 19 conferences and
events in China alone, and was first to offer expos in
emerging markets throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and
Latin America.
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 www.internetstandard.pl

Conferences DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: POLAND

INTERNET STANDARD
There is one standard – Internet Standard
In 2007 Internet Standard organized a few strategic, business-to-business conferences
which were met with great acclaim from internet and related industries.

• must attend internet industry annual event

• latest online research and business analysis
• new market trends
• online adspend
• new investments, mergers and acquisitions,
stock exchange listings

• best online marketing practice

CLIENTS 2.0 • new trends: Web 2.0, social
networking, behavioural targeting
FMCG • best FMCG case studies

• internet in media mix

• online ad spend
• advertising strategy
• best case studies

• new developments in e-commerce market

• consumer behaviour
• business models for e-commerce
• customer acquisition and retention
• online payment systems

ConferenCe SChedule for 2008 V best internet industry

conferences in the country
• future media • Clients 2.0
• searCh engine marketing • adstandard 2008 V exclusive analysis
standard 2008 • e-CommerCestandard V leading keynote speakers
• internet 2k8 2008 V brilliant networking opportunity

If you would like to get involved in Internet Standard Conferences project

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or simply find out more about the coming events please contact
Agnieszka_Switkowska@idg.com.pl, www.internetstandard.pl