Formats of Stationary Retail Trade for FMCG in Poland – State and Directions of Development (Formaty stacjonarnego handlu detalicznego FMCG w Polsce – stan i kierunki rozwoju )

The notion ‘trade format’ means a particular way of carrying out retailing or wholesaling, in the stationary or non-stationary form. The aim of the article is to identify the changes that took place in formats of stationary retail trade in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Poland in 2008–2015. An analysis comprised hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores and malls, discount stores, convenience stores, and specialized stores with food articles as well as points of sale of cosmetics and toilet preparations. The object of the analysis included: assets, assortment and service offer, prices, communication with customers. The article was prepared on the basis of CSO (GUS) data, including those specially ordered by the Institute for Market, Consumption and Business Cycles Research (IBRKK), as well as various materials from secondary sources, including papers, articles, and interviews with trade representatives published in the business press. The author also made use of information acquired directly from entrepreneurs during meetings with trade representatives as well as quantitative and qualitative methods of contents analysis. The article is of the analytical and descriptive nature.