Shining a Spotlight on Poland’s Leading Fuel Retailer

To meet the changing expectations of customers, PKN ORLEN is strongly focused on expanding non-fuel sales.

February 22, 2018

By Fiona Briggs

POLAND – PKN ORLEN ranks No. 6 among European fuel retailers in terms of the number of service stations. At the end of 2017, the ORLEN retail network comprised 1,776 sites in Poland, 581 in Germany, 401 in the Czech Republic and 25 in Lithuania. The company is the market leader not only in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic, after having rebranded the locations acquired from OMV.

In Germany, where PKN ORLEN ranks among the top five players, its stations are run under the brand name of Star, which has outperformed other brands in terms of positive customer perception, according to the Fanfocus survey. PKN ORLEN is also Poland’s leading operator of motorway service areas; currently, it has 30 such stations, with more to come.

To meet the changing expectations of customers, PKN ORLEN is strongly focused on expanding non-fuel sales. The company reports that it is consistently implementing new, innovative concepts, such as stop.cafe and O!Shop, which feature unique coffee corners and convenience stores.

The modern store concept under the O!Shop brand is being rapidly developed across Poland, with 160 O!Shops already launched, and in neighboring countries. Notably, this new store concept by PKN ORLEN has already become the most popular brand among Polish consumers in the ‘convenience stores at service stations’ category, as confirmed by the nationwide Consumer Laurel—TOP BRAND 2017 contest.

The stop.cafe concept features a very wide selection of traditional Polish breakfast and lunch dishes. At all service stations with stop.cafe stores, consumers can also buy private label coffees, teas in a variety of flavours and plenty of hot and cold refreshments, such as fresh sandwiches, salads and wraps prepared to order in front of customers. Rounding off the offering are freshly squeezed orange juices and sweet snacks, some baked on site. PKN ORLEN is also working to improve the availability of new products on the so-called fresh island—for example, it has now started selling bio yogurts and high protein products, targeted mainly at physically active people.

At all ORLEN stations, the retailer offers a wide choice of coffees (FAIRTRADE certified), sandwiches and fast food products. At the end of 2017, nearly 200 of its stations offered an extensive range of food products and services in the stop.cafe 2.0 format. Major revamps are also under way at the company’s Czech, German and Lithuanian assets.

PKN ORLEN also seeks to respond to the growing needs of customers by implementing innovative solutions across the network. It aims to achieve a leading edge in additional services for motorists.

“Our customer-oriented strategy covers not only the offering and its expansion, but also all the other elements that can make our network more customer-friendly,” the retailer says. “In a continued effort to turn our stations into universal retail areas catering to multiple needs, we plan to roll out further e-commerce, mobile payment and other services (such as courier deliveries). We aim to go ahead with our plans in line with how the automotive market and customers’ needs evolve.”

The company’s efforts to align the retail facilities and business model with the changing needs of customers have repeatedly been recognized by independent surveys. Recently, ORLEN stations have received the highest marks in a nationwide, anonymous survey by experts of the independent Polish Institute for Quality Research (PIBJA).

For more about PKN ORLEN, read “Polish C-Store Sector Booms” in the March issue of NACS Magazine. To see PKN ORLEN for yourself, visit Poland this June for the NACS Convenience Summit Europe, June 3-8 in Warsaw and London. Visit conveniencesummit.com for more information and to register for the event.

Fiona Briggs is a retail business journalist. She can be reached at fionalbriggs@gmail.com.

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