Zabka

Our 2011 investment was followed by a highly successful six-year partnership which saw Polish retailer Zabka grow from a sizable chain of convenience stores into one of the most modern and fastest-growing retail networks in Poland. 

We began tracking Zabka in 2007 and kept in touch with management whilst continuing to map and assess the market. We identified substantial potential for consolidating the fragmented market: at the time of the initial investment, the top five chains commanded a joint 28% of the Polish market. An ambitious programme of roll-out and add-on acquisitions saw Zabka nearly double its network during the hold period, from 2,300 to 4,500, and CVC Capital Partners bought the business in 2017 as part of a competitive auction.

Partnership highlights:

• Significant investment into integrating IT systems to ensure logistics could be in-housed and operational efficiencies gained 
• Product offering and customer shopping were improved as Zabka became one of the most modern retail networks in Poland
• Marketing strategy was enhanced and logo updated
• Seven acquisitions of strong regional players
• Number of outlets doubled (2,300 to 4,500)
• Revenues tripled to c. €1.5bn
• EBITDA nearly quadrupled to c. €100m

Value creation:

• Organic Growth
• Acquisitive Growth
• Operational Excellence
• Digitalisation