Analysis of Ryman Stationery's Expansion Opportunities in Poland

This report examines Ryman The Stationer Ltd's strategic plan to expand its retail operations into Poland. It begins with an introduction outlining the company's goals and the challenges of entering the Polish market, followed by a detailed analysis of the business environment. The main body of the report includes background information on Ryman, its organizational structure, and the nature of its operations. It delves into the Polish business environment using PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces analyses to identify political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. The report also assesses the buying and supplying power, threats of substitutes, new competitors, and existing rivalry in the market. Finally, the report analyzes business opportunities using the Ansoff matrix, exploring market penetration, development, and product development strategies. It also discusses financial performance, FDI dynamics, and provides recommendations for successful market entry and sustainable growth.

Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
1. Background information of the company...............................................................................3
2. Background of Business Environment....................................................................................5
3. Analysis of Business opportunities:........................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Business organisations and environment emphasise on the concepts of managerial
theories and carries mission, vision and goals with them. In this report, there is focus on
Ryman The Stationer Ltd which is a retail company UK and wants to expand its operations
in Poland. There are various issues including internal and external factors which it has to
face while expanding its branches in Poland. Its business environment including customers,
employee’s supply and demand as well as business regulationsas regulations would get
affected according to its structure and country's rules and , regulations will also affect its
operations (Halemba-Pawlik, 2017). Ryman The Stationer Ltd while expanding its business
in Poland gets affected by economic conditions, fiscal performance of the country, change
in interest rates, cash and debts, business and operational risks, etc. In this report, there is
complete discussion on foreign direct investment, external forces, types and sizes of
organisation with major factors affecting business environment.
Ryman wants to expand in Poland because it has opportunities related to foreign
direct investment in that market. Therefore, it wants to explore and capture market related
to retail sector and wants to make its position in other country. In order to determine
threats and opportunities, PESTLE analysis or Porter's five forces model can be taken into
consideration so that organisation can analyse upcoming threats and sustain itself in the
market. Ryman has to consider specific operational aspects while expanding it in Poland
(Sitányiová and Masarovicová, 2016). FDI dynamics in Poland boosted up after recession.
Poland has found Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) to overcome situations of
FDI. This would further attract companies to invest there and expand globally.
MAIN BODY
1. Background information of company
Ryman The Stationer Ltd is a stationery retail company in UK and wants to expand
its branches in Poland. It provides stores and office supplies for businesses and generates
revenue of 12.82 crores (Stefańczyk and et.al., 2016). Currently, 100-249 employees are
working and it has 220 outlets nationwide in the UK.
Structure of company:

Structure of Ryman is organisational which can be defined as hierarchy in which
function, and each and every job is reported to the organisation. Ryman developed this
structure so that it can assist and operate properly and achieve its goal for future growth.
This organisational structure allows employees' growth and development of the company.
Employee retention and recruitment are major aspects for successful operations.
Employees in Ryman have promotional opportunities and job security which reduces
recruitment costs (Doménech-Carbó, and et.al., 2017). If it would expand in Poland, then its
organisational structure would permit growing its room there too. Several functions would
expand, new divisions would grow and there would be additional functions in the
management. Salaries of employees would be edited after expansion and structure would
definitely get reorganized.
Nature of company
Ryman has separate legal entity and has its own seal and name. According to law, it
has it is different and distinctive.. It is capable of borrowing money, incurring debt and
entering into contracts with other companies. Members of the company has limited liability
towards contribution of assets of the company. Thus, it is liable to pay uncalled sum of
money even if the company exceeds its assets. Shares of the company are subjected to
certain conditions and are freely transferable so that no shareholder is permanently
adhered to company.
International Operations: Foreign Direct Investment in Poland
According to UNCTAD 2017 World Investment Report inflow of FDI declined at
USD 11.4 billion (Tang and et.al., 2015). It mainly focussed on professional and technical
activities, information and, communication activities, real estate and manufacturing
industry. Poland has some special Economic zone. Ryman can expand in Poland because
Polish economy has some benefits such as:
1. It makes efficient use of European Structural Fund.
2. It has an elastic banking system and strong domestic demand
3. Ryman should invest in Poland because it is multilingual and has skilled workforce
which provides cheap labour cost and thus increases productivity.
Financial performance: Ryman Stationery has been successful doing good as the focus of
firm is on maintaining cost effectiveness in products and services. However, the

organisation focused on maintaining optimum utilisation of resource and minimizing waste
(Bednarz and Markiewicz, 2015). This strategy of the business assists the management in
maintaining effectiveness in funds and budget plans.
It has reported growth and increased EBITDA of £2.4m (2016:£1.5m).
2. Background of Business Environment
Business Environment of Ryman can be determined through PESTLE analysis and
Porter's Five forces:
PESTLE Analysis:
Political Factor: Poland has some differences between coalition partners which is a reason of
concern but has a very strong foreign policy. This is a positive factor Ryman to expand its
Illustration 1: FDI Investment Chart
Source: Mature Leader of CEE Region, 2018

branches. It has good relations with US, France, great Britain. Some economic proposals were
also blocked by finance minister which is a controversial matter (Grondys and Dragolea, 2016).
Thus, there can be some problems for business environment of Ryman. Political stability is
strong in UK but Brexit is creating chaos here. It has leads to political debates and uncertainties.
There is risk of currency fluctuations during process of negotiations that may influence retailers'
performance. UK retailers have to confirm EU standards and trade regulations and policies while
selling products to them. If there would be difference between policies and standards of UK and
EU then retailers will get affected. Brexit checklist involves ensuring right financial investment
strategies and monitoring legislative programmes. It will mitigate tax risks it will engage all
external and internal stakeholders from all platforms. Thus, Ryman would be having long
reaching impact on the ease of running business.
Economic Factor: There is close interconnection of the country with Eurozone which makes it
compromising in all aspects and Polish economy is resilient in nature. Ryman can take advantage
of strong banking sector because it is supported by flexible currency and its economy has been
raised up to 3.91% in 2010 and 4.28% in 2011. There are many linkages of cross-border supply
chains with other Euro countries which clearly means that there are chances of fluctuations
externally in other European countries (Chromińska and Strojny, 2016). According to IMF, 75%
of total FDI liabilities is dependent on European counterparts for investment and there is regular
increase in investment by foreign delegates in government bond holdings which is a cause of
concern. E-commerce is growing widely in the country.
Social Factor: There can be effect on activities of Ryman due unfavourable demographic
changes in Poland but it is strong in terms of human development indicators. It has a ageing
society and declining birth rate. Working age population as compared to total population
declined from 71.3% in 2010 to 53.4%. Thus, Ryman can face low participation of youth in
terms of employment.
Technological factor: Ryman can take advantage of Poland's emerging business process
outsourcing hub but its innovation process can get hindered by low research and development
expenditure. There are many Polish cities like Warsaw and Wroclow which have to outsourcing
destinations (Cieslik, 2017). Major factor is that there is presence of qualified and educated
labour force.. Therefore, Ryman won't face any problem regarding selection of qualified staff.

Environmental factor: Poland has endured environmental laws and its protection and
development which has to be followed by each and every organisation. Country is in a process of
developing new waste management policies and implementing Green Technology Accelerator
project that focuses on innovative technologies of environmental protection.
Legal factor: Poland's government remain balanced among judicial, executive and legislative
authorities (Maciejewska, Mrozowicki and Piasna, 2016). It has parliamentary system and a legal
republic. Currently it is ranked poor in business environment which is a negative sign for
establishing any business in Poland. Country demands six procedures and 32 days to start any
new organisation which is a tough procedure. Therefore, Ryman has to go through various
process and it would take time to establish business.
Porter's Five forces:
1. Buying Power of Customers: Buying power is moderate and it is due to losing individual
consumers, its buying power will diminish. In Poland customers' demand keep fluctuating and
they shop for best deal. Therefore, Ryman has to focus on customers. Buying power is also
diminished due to existence of switching cost and leads to surrendering of policy which may be
payable.
2. Supplying Power: Suppliers have their own patented and unique system and mainly includes
software houses and ICT manufacturers. There is high level of competition among suppliers that
reduce prices to producers which is a positive sign for Ryman.
3. Threat of Substitutes: Customers are not interested to switch from one market to another
product or service (Gorynia and et.al., 2015). This clearly means that substitute products are
inferior and could create much impact on Poland's market. This is would further result low costs.
Customers compare less when products are different which is positive sign for Ryman.
4. Threat of new competitors: Ryman would definitely need resources, money and times to
build its brand in Poland and compete with other industries. New competitors have to improve
their brand value to compete efficiently if strong brands are critical to compete. It also has strong
distribution network which satisfies customer demands on time.
5. Intensity of existing Rivalry: There is strong rivalry in the market as large companies like to
merge with other instead of spending money and advertising among people.
Therefore, through PESTLE and Porter's five forces company's business environment can
be examined in Poland.

3. Analysis of Business opportunities:
According to analytical approaches there are various business opportunities. Company
experiences little financial risk and rapid growth. Managers and owners are much responsible for
the success of their outlets so they would surely make efforts to rum their business smoothly.
There is low start-up cost and qualified labour can be employees (Kosztowniak, 2015). Money
invested on technology can be returned because it has good distribution network. Moreover, its
business opportunities can be identified using Ansoff matrix Model:
1. Market penetration: it is act of promoting a new product through various strategies like
advertising, lower prices etc. As discussed above, E-commerce is playing vital role in market
penetration and has contributed 3.3% share which is less than European average. There is high
Internet and mobile Internet Penetration and top products are sold online. Almost 40m customers
shop online in Poland. Ryman can connect with customers and create customer relationship.
2. Market development: market development means identifying and developing new market for
existing products (Wach and Wojciechowski, 2016.). It mainly focuses on non-buying
customers. Poland is the largest recipient of investment and EU structural funds with 104 billion
decided budget from 2014-20120. These funds would be further used in improvement of internet
Illustration 2: Key fundamentals of Poland

access, infrastructure facilities and empower industries to improve their research and
development. It is also modernizing electricity generation and distribution management system
and diversifying energy resources. Foreign direct investment is continuously flowing up with the
total of €176 billion FDI. This has resulted in stable banking system with growth and innovation.
3. Product development:Product development means modifying existing products and
formulating it into new one so that it satisfies consumer demands. Management team in Poland
always meet customer requirements and have ability to develop personalised products with new
designs which are aligned with markets and follow regulatory requirements. They develop and
innovate new technologies, products with high range of approaches. Ryman, could work with its
clients and analyse product modules and achieve outstanding results (Bednarz and Markiewicz,
2015). This includes reduction in cost drivers and recognizing optimal cost supply. Quality wise
products are addressed and claims are limited due to fraudulent behaviour of dealership. Profit is
drained if product designed is not managed properly and so pricing have to be compromised..
core competencies are defined which creates product development in Poland. Poland offers wide
variety of investment incentives and open for business which is a positive sign for Ryman. Tax
relief, government grants and access to European funds are equally available to terms and
conditions to Polish and foreign investors. Ryman can find business friendly environment in
Poland.
4. Diversification: Diversification means varying or enlarging of products in existing market. It
is an attempt to provide regions with sufficient variety of industries. Poland industries are
environment friendly and it has moved from renewable to liquefied natural gas. It is less reliable
on geopolitical issues because of fluid delivery options (Chromińska and Strojny, 2016). It has
diversified market for medium and small scale industries. It has developed economic
diversification strategies initiating from small pilot actions to large changes in industrial base.
Thus, Ryman can diversify its products following environmental and green strategy and take use
renewable resources.
CONCLUSION
Finally, it is concluded that Ryman which is a retail company should plan some strategies
and focus on Ansoff matrix model according to which every aspect is has its own significance. It
should also analyse Pestle and examine political, economic, social, technological and

environmental factors deeply. This report highlights that there are various challenges and drivers
that can influence investment decisions of Ryman in the economy. Country's supportive
government and strategic location strengthens its industrial activities. It has diminishing Current
account Deficit, and trade deficit but high foreign reserves which is useful for market
development and penetration. Whereas, it is also facing some social challenges like ageing
population that could lead to increase in dependency ratio. But its diversification towards mobile
penetartion and E-commerce is making market more diversified and outstanding (Cieslik, 2017).
As discussed in the report, it has highly educated and qualified workforce so Ryman cannot face
any problem regarding employees. Poland is the single country and EU economy which has
showed positive GDP growth when all other countries were facing recession.
Further it can be said that while establishing a new business like Ryman has to go
through some legal formalities which take time from Poland's Government side. There are some
parameters included in the law which has to be completed like paying taxes, securing electricity,
construction permits, registering policy, trading across borders, resolving insolvency and
enforcing contracts (Gorynia and et.al., 2015). All these legal formalities take much time without
which business cannot expand properly and take use of all possible resources. Rules and
regulations are much higher in Poland as compared to OECD standards.
After analysing Porter's five forces it can be said that new competitors must study the
market before entering into it and when the learning curve is high. It needs more money and time
before they effectively compete with others. Poland has ranked among the moderate innovators
and has weak research systems, entrepreneurship and linkages and intellectual assets which
resulted declination in the collaboration of small and medium scale enterprises. There are trade
unions which are main hurdle in way of restructuring of business and its privatisation. But it has
developed stable and strong banking sector. Poland's bureaucratic and political system is
considered to be corrupt so it is hindrance to foreign investment. Ryman can build a sustainable
differentiation so that it can compete better and more appropriately. It should be service oriented
instead of product oriented (Sitányiová and Masarovicová, 2016). Then, it should focus on the
needs of customers rather just looking at them what type of product they are buying. It should
collaborate with competitors to increase its market size. By analysing five competitive forces on
Ryman strategies applied in Poland can gain profitability and competitive advantage through

game changing trends and swiftly respond to emerging opportunities. Thus, Ryman can capture
market of Poland with new strategies and plans.

REFERENCES
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