093 - Rozwój sprzedaży elektronicznej w Grupie LPP - Mikołaj Wezdecki

Hello Marek, thank you very much for the invitation. I must admit that I am a listener of the 'Sztuka e-commerce' podcast. And I greet all the people who are with us today and are listening.

Certainly, with pleasure. Before I talk about my current role, let me walk the listeners through my career. I've been fortunate to co-create three of the five largest e-commerces in Poland: RTV Euro AGD, eobuwie (now Modivo), and LPP. It started with my parents' skate shop – the first in Poland. At 17, I built an online store for it; after three months, online revenue surpassed the physical store. That taught me the power of 24/7 sales and reaching a dispersed niche audience. Then I joined hopla, an online electronics retailer, but it was too early – producers saw it as a threat and wholesalers became competitors. I then spent 12 years at RTV Euro AGD, growing its e-commerce from zero to 2.5 billion PLN. We launched OleOle as a pure player with lower prices while euro.com.pl supported offline stores with consistent pricing. After that, I joined eobuwie to help scale a company growing 100% yearly. We identified the need to expand into apparel, so we launched Modivo, which became a huge success. The experience of raising capital from SoftBank taught me the importance of focusing on customer retention, not just acquisition. Now at LPP, I spent my first eight months with Sinsay, working on customer acquisition, retention, and integrated marketing. Then I moved to Silky Codes, LPP's internal software house, where I'm responsible for e-commerce platform development and mobile apps. My goal is to create a seamless omnichannel experience across all brands. The biggest change I've seen in 15 years is the professionalization of e-commerce – it's no longer a playground but a specialized field. You need to find your niche and excel.

I think what has changed most is the full professionalization of e-commerce. When I started, it was like kids running after a ball on a school field – no roles, no specialization. Now it's like professional football: you have defenders, midfielders, attackers, goalkeepers. Even digital marketing has split into SEM, email, social media, etc. You can't be a generalist; you need to find your specialty and become the best at it. That's the key today.

LPP is fundamentally different from my previous companies because it designs and manufactures its own products. That requires creative skills to spot fashion trends and production expertise. My role is to support these processes with technology and data. LPP has two key subsidiaries: Silky Codes, our internal software house with 700 employees, and LPP Logistics. We have five brands: Sinsay, Reserved, Cropp, House, and Mohito. COVID was a huge accelerator for e-commerce, pushing our online share to nearly 30%. The war in Ukraine forced us to close the Russian market and pivot to Western Europe, showing our agility. Inflation has led to cautious consumers, but our diverse brand portfolio helps: Sinsay serves price-sensitive customers, while Reserved and Mohito cater to those seeking quality. We've seen that customer retention is critical; we invest in loyalty and personalized marketing.

One key difference is return rates: in Western Europe, especially Germany, returns are twice as high because customers often order spontaneously with free returns and BNPL. In Romania, cash on delivery is still very common. We also see cultural preferences in colors: Central and Eastern Europeans prefer more subdued tones, while Southern Europeans go for brighter colors. Climate also matters: winter starts earlier in Poland, so we adjust our seasonal inventory accordingly.

We haven't been defeated by any market, but we make deliberate choices. For example, Spain is difficult because logistics costs are high, returns are high, and global players like Amazon invest heavily. Without a strong brand presence, achieving profitability is tough. So we focus on markets where we can get the right unit economics.