In an international survey of some 323 retail chains in 73 countries, over a third said that they planned to set up branches in Poland, whilst a third are already at large on the Polish market.

The findings come courtesy of the consulting firm CB Ellis, which conducts annual research on the activities of major chains.

Of all the countries surveyed, only Germany proved more popular as a place of future investment, with 40 percent of respondents declaring an interest in investing there.

In Poland, Warsaw is attracting the most attention, but it transpires that in spite of a number of snazzy shopping malls, space is hard to come by at the moment, with very few

Krakow has benefited from this, with eight branches of international chains opening there in 2010.

According to the research, the UK most chain-infested state, with some 58 percent of the companies surveyed already active on British soil. (nh)

Source: Rzeczpospolita