Retail stores go bankrupt
Small retailers are losing out to large chains. Since the beginning of the year, 371 stores have declared insolvency.
From January to September, we had 371 insolvent stores on the Polish market – twice as many as in 2020. Retailers are struggling with inflation, high interest rates that have increased the cost of servicing debt and also energy prices. Rising wage expectations are also a challenge. In addition, consumers are increasingly willing to shop at discounters due to rising prices. Small operators do not stand a chance against such competition. They are also losing out to online shopping.
Previously, more companies that engaged in wholesale trade went bankrupt. Today, retailers are finding it hardest to survive. As many as 81 percent of them are small, local stores. Retailers are also increasing their debt to the greatest extent. BIG Info Monitor data shows that at the end of August it had already reached PLN 2.72 billion. A year ago it was at PLN 2.6 billion. Wholesale, on the other hand, debts decreased from PLN 4.56 billion to PLN 4.33 billion.
