Wywiad z Markiem Piechockim, prezesem firmy odzieżowej LPP

It actually happened on March 13th. All retail locations, all restaurants were shut down — not only in Poland but in most countries, they were closed. Unfortunately, this means we were deprived of revenue, while at the same time we have to continue meeting our obligations — to our employees, to our suppliers who produced the collection for us. And honestly, the biggest challenge today is managing these people in this context, to preserve as many jobs as possible. We're aware that non-operating locations generate costs on various sides, including the employment side. We now have a law that helps us to some extent, and we'll be looking very closely at how to apply it in individual retail locations. That's probably our biggest challenge — to protect as many jobs as possible.

There's a strong awareness that today we're all fighting for health and life. But at the same time, we're aware that the entire world — not just Poland — after we deal with this pandemic, will be in a major recession. It seems it will be the biggest in history, much bigger than the 2008-2009 recession, which was called the biggest since the Great Depression of 1929. People are saying this one will be bigger. But on the other hand, governments are trying to support their economies in various ways, through stimulation by injecting large amounts of money into the economy. However, it's very important in this pandemic situation to protect as many jobs as possible, right?

We founded the Polish Association of Trade and Service Employers to talk with lawmakers about how the regulations introduced on March 13th affect our sector. That's why we're uniting. But in reality, you have to understand that in the longer term, we're talking about a recession. We're preparing for it; we have plans. It's said loudly during a recession that you need to protect your cash above all else, not think about recovering. What does that mean concretely? It's already obvious that as CEO — and for me also as someone indirectly representing our shareholders — we won't be paying a dividend this year. We want to protect that money to maintain liquidity. So our plans are focused on doing everything possible to protect the company from the consequences of a major slowdown and to protect those 200,000 jobs in the sector. As for how that will look in detail, I think none of us knows. We're preparing for the worst, because as I said, we've never had a situation like this. The economy has never experienced anything like it — all restaurants closed, all airlines practically not functioning, all shops closed. For the first time, all of Europe is shut down, the United States is shut down. We're preparing for the slowdown. We know that governments of various countries are doing everything to make it as small as possible.

I operate on the principle that it's best for everyone to focus on what they do best, and then the help is more effective. Since we've been working in China for 30 years, we have extensive knowledge of what to do and where. Back when nobody was yet thinking about the coronavirus — it was a problem at the end of January and early February — we helped our consumers, employees of our office, and our Chinese partners by sending 500,000 masks. Now over a million are returning from China. The first 300,000 will arrive in the coming days, by April 5th to 10th, and another 700,000 are on their way, arriving around April 20th. They'll be appearing in Polish hospitals, and we want to distribute them to as many hospitals as possible. Through the Polish Association of Employers, we're also starting production in Poland — both masks and protective suits. The Industrial Development Agency came to us yesterday, and together we're establishing our production capacity to start production this week. We're also helping the Prime Minister's office procure equipment from China — suits, masks, and various other items. I'm looking at this with great confidence — there are about 150 companies in the association, including Ochnik, Tatuum, Monnari, and others. We'll be producing suits, masks, and gowns that hospitals need right now. I'm happy that it's not just us — many Poles have gotten involved.

What's encouraging is that many initiatives have appeared, aimed at helping. We want to help each other. We've started to show solidarity, in partnership, everyone transcending political, cultural, and geographical divisions. We've also learned to work remotely, using various media that allow us to see someone on a computer screen who's 500 or 1,000 kilometers away and calmly carry out various activities. What's most encouraging is seeing these initiatives trying to help in this difficult situation, especially in healthcare, which needs help the most — in the form of suits, equipment, or other supplies. There's a lot of social mobilization. Not just us as a company — many businesses and individuals are helping on their own, whether by doing someone's shopping or delivering something. It's a general social mobilization. What also brings me joy is that social awareness of the threat is very high. At least here on the coast, as I observe, everyone is restraining themselves from going out, everyone is staying home, working remotely. I think we as entrepreneurs in this trade and services sector have also managed to unite in these difficult moments. Despite competing in shopping centers, within seven days we managed to unite. We have over 150 companies in the Polish Association of Employers directly employing 200,000 people, and if you include suppliers, it's about a million people. These are probably the positive elements that sometimes make you think how great it is that we're active and helping others.

Thank you very much.