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Barlinek in China

Barlinek supplies its products, especially the Barlinek board, to 45 countries on 4 continents. This means that the company's floors are available on almost all European markets and on selected world markets. Recently, China has become one of the favourite directions for the Polish manufacturer.

There are several reasons for this. Today over 1.3 billion people live in China and it is currently the largest consumer market. Last year, this country achieved an economic growth rate of over 9% of GDP, and their industrial production also rose by 9%. The GDP growth rate has remained strong for years, and stood at nearly 8% for the first three quarters of 2009! During the last few years, China has also been an enormous building site, attracting the most direct foreign investment. It is for these reasons that companies of the Michał Sołowow Capital Group have been observing this market as an increasingly interesting sales market. Despite fierce competition, China is a world leader in the production of layered wooden floors, with an annual manufacturing potential of around 25m m2, and consumption of over 78m m2. (data for 2008). Barlinek was the first to decide to build up sales structures there. The company commissioned market research, whose results encouraged management to take a range of courageous decisions.

"It turns out there is still room on the market for a European manufacturer," says Marek Janke, member of the management board and Barlinek's commercial director.

Barlinek's first showroom, offering a wide range of floors and wooden accessories, opened at the end of October this year in Shanghai. The manufacturer offers premium products: of the highest quality, for demanding customers, at prices which beat the local competition. Among the range on offer to the Chinese customer, the leaders are single lamellate floors, and aged and exotic boards. Soon this market will also witness the debut of the exclusive brand in Barlinek's portfolio - L’Esprit Décoration.

"The plans concerning the Chinese market in 2010 are ambitious, but realistic," considers Marek Janke. "In 2010 we plan to open 15 franchise shops, and we will also distribute our floors in collaboration with local DIY chains."