| Żabka | |
| Type: | Sp. z o.o. |
| Area Served: | Poland, Czech Republic, Romania |
| Founders: | Mariusz Świtalski |
| Key People: | Tomasz Suchański (President and CEO) |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Revenue: | zl 3.36 billion (2012)[1] |
| Parent: | CVC Capital Partners |
| Location City: | Poznań, Poland |
| Locations: | 9000 |
Żabka Polska, better known as Żabka (pronounced as /pl/; lit. "little frog") is a chain of convenience stores in Poland and Romania.[2] There are at least 9,000 manned and unmanned stores across Poland, including at least 500 in Warsaw and over 340 in the Tricity area, as of . Some Żabka stores are located in the Czech Republic (styled as Žabka) and owned by the Czech branch of the UK retail giant Tesco plc.[3] The retail turnover was about €650 million in 2010.[4] As of 2022, Żabka had more than 15.5 million customers.[5]
Żabka was founded by entrepreneur Mariusz Świtalski in 1998 and in the same year opened its first seven stores in Poznań and Swarzędz. By October 2005, Żabka had 1,700 stores throughout Poland. In 2007, Żabka was acquired by Penta Investments.[6]
In December 2010, Penta sold the Czech operations of Žabka and its Koruna subsidiary to UK retail giant Tesco plc.[7] The deal was closed in April 2011. In February 2011, Penta signed an agreement to sell the remaining Polish operations Żabka Polska, including the Freshmarket store format, to Mid Europa Partners.[3]
In 2016, Żabka underwent a rebranding. In February 2017, Mid Europa Partners closed a deal to sell Żabka for an undisclosed value (but estimated by analysts between €1 billion and €1.5 billion[8]) to the Luxembourg based CVC Capital Partners.[9]
Since 2018, after the long-expected Sunday trading ban in Poland was introduced,[10] [11] [12] [13] Żabka Polska has increased its focus on self-checkouts and automated, unmanned stores, the latter using the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform.[14]
In 2021, Polish track and field athlete Maria Andrejczyk auctioned off the silver medal she had won at the Tokyo Olympics a few weeks earlier, to raise funds for the treatment of an eight-month-old baby; Żabka won the auction and returned the medal to the athlete.[15]
In late-2022, Jarosław Kaczyński suggested that the Polish Law and Justice government might buy Żabka from CVC Capital Partners.[16] [17]
In December 2023, it was announced that Żabka would open its first stores in Romania.[18]
In March 2024, it had been announced that Zabka will offer mobile phone repair services.
In addition to its regular manned stores, Żabka also has smaller, unmanned stores called Żabka Nano (formerly Żappka,[19] also the name of Żabka's mobile app, introduced in 2020). Żabka Nano stores are open 24 hours a day and operate without staff or checkout areas. Customers tap their payment card at the entrance to open the door to the store, take products from the shelves, and leave. Video cameras and AI are used to identify the goods taken and charge the customer.[20]
The first Żabka Nano store was opened at the grounds of the Poznań International Fair in June 2021. Notable Żabka Nano stores include one located inside Poland's largest Decathlon store in Piaseczno, opened in December 2021,[21] and a pilot store located at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany, which operated during the third quarter of 2022.[22]