Poland has become a traditional manufacturing base of Europe and is recently growing into Europe's new consumer market. Despite a recession in the global market, Polish economy continues to grow. After living here for around 3 months, I could feel the economic development in every corner of the city. Similar to a construction boom in Korea in the 80s and 90s, high-rise buildings are being built in different regions of Warsaw. Thanks to the active policy support of the Polish government, the inflation in Poland has been stable since 2017 after the country escaped deflation at the end of 2016. The financial status of households is also improving with the unemployment rate recording a new low every month. A recent increase in income in the Polish labor market, in addition to the government's stance on keeping the lowest interest rate unchanged, is facilitating consumption and the virtuous cycle is boosting domestic economy again.

 What comes to our mind first whenever we think of Europe is its 'high cost of living'. This is one of the major concerns of those who are planning on a trip to Europe. Nevertheless, the cost of living in Poland felt lower than in Korea to me. It is cheaper to rent a house and buy clothes and foods than other Western and Northern European countries. This may feel different to locals who make money here as they measure the cost of living not in comparison with others but just based on their own experiences. When I talk to local people, the vast majority of them say that the cost of living in their country is high. This puzzled me at first, but I understood it right away when I learned their average income. The average income of Poland is 4,500PNL (1.25 million Korean won), which is around 45.3% of Korea's average income. I believe that the reasonable consumption habit of the Polish is due to their average income and actual cost of living.

 There is a simple structure in the consumption pattern of the Polish people. Out of numerous consumption factors such as brand, product, price, design, quality, service, etc., Polish people focus on two things only – 'Price' and 'Made in Poland'. It is a simple consumption trait in contrast with the consumption pattern of people these days that look for luxurious brands and prioritize various other consumption factors such as service apart from a product's function. It made me think that if we enter the Polish market in cooperation with a well-known local brand amid the economic growth of the country, we will be able to enjoy an eye-catching effect that draws Polish people's attention.

 Poland was under the influence of communism after the 2nd World War. This made it more difficult for women to gain an equal status as men in the society, and, under the control of communism over decades, men and women had different roles with women spending most of their times on household chores. During this time, Polish men enjoyed a lot more leisure time than Polish women and the average income of men was much higher than that of women. As a result, the major consumers in the communist Poland were men who were also the leaders of households. This trend started changing from 1989 when Poland turned into a free democratic nation. As Polish women began to have a higher level of education compared to men on average, it created a tension in gender roles within Poland. Many Polish women felt the need to have their own jobs rather than relying on men, and they made efforts to insert their existence in the society against job inequality. To be back on the job market, Polish women started imposing the responsibility of household chores on men and this culture has naturally made women hold the purse strings within a household. In most of households, both husband and wife have a job, but women write the check in family and they are the main consumers.

 One of the biggest characteristics of the Polish women as the main consumers is that they are 'the biggest complainers in the world'. Poland has an extremely complicated history. Invasion of Germany and Russia, suppression of communism and climate from its geographical environment have all caused the Polish to have such a nickname. However, most Polish women are not offended by this nickname and are proud of themselves for being able to clearly articulate their opinions. The women in Poland I met while conducting customer surveys clearly expressed their views and were not ambiguous in their likes and dislikes. I believe that their traits as 'complainers' has stood out because they voice their opinions loud and clear. In particular, when they have a slight complain about a product or service, they do not shy away from expressing that view, which is something Amorepacific should consider when making inroads into the Polish market.

 In addition, family is the most important factor for Polish women and I think this could be a theme to get close to them when entering the market. They are also more interested in cosmetics and fashion than other Eastern European women as they focus more on selfcare and self-presentation. They trust information from the people of the group they belong to (friends and colleagues) rather than information on the internet or TV commercials. Despite a fairly high level of education, Polish women's monthly average income is around 900,000 Korean won, which is lower than expected and lower than men. This explains why cost-effectiveness is the top priority in their consumption.

 Poland is paying more attention to Generation Z than to the millennials. Same as in Korea, Poland is concerned about aging population as the number of economically active population is expected to be significantly lower than now after 2020. In response to the challenge, the country is studying on Generation Z who are the generation after the millennials. The Generation Z in Poland will be 50% smaller in population than its previous generation, but they are to have a significant impact on education, economy and marketing.

 To briefly explain Generation Z, they can be said as a more precise and pragmatic generation than the millennials. This is because the Generation Z grew up with an awareness of economic crisis. They have a lower sense of certainty for the future and focus more on security while looking for the base of appropriate action and learning on the internet. The major consumers of digital contents can be divided into the millennials born after the 1980s and the Generation Z born after 1995. In the past, the focus was mainly on the millennials (born between 1982~2000, aged around 18~36) who were the main pillar of the internet era. In the recent mobile-only era, the traffic by the Generation Z (born between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, aged around 13~21) who are used to a 24-hour digital life is growing at an exponential speed. These two groups together are referred to as the digital generation, but Poland is strictly separating them into two groups in its research.

 The consumption habit of the Generation Z in Poland shows that they concentrate more on purchasing valuable goods than loyalty for a brand or a company. They contemplate on 'the social impact of their purchase' more than the millennials and they leave reviews on the products they use and share them on social media to actively voicing their opinions about the products in the market. As they prefer brands with a story, sincerity and value, it may be difficult to find what they want at department stores or shopping malls. Instead, they find products with a story on the internet that mainly target them. They also think more about what kind of social value they can add with their purchase and what kind of consumer experience they can share, which shows that a department store or shopping mall may not be a place for shopping for them anymore. The Generation Z presents different traits compared to consumption habit of the young generation in other societies.

 Also, while the millennials admire the celebrities in TV and are influenced by their fashion, language and features, the Generation Z is affected more by influencers on YouTube or Instagram they see on their mobile phones. They pay more attention to the products recommended by influencers on their phones than celebrities on TV and Polish companies are making efforts to utilize these influencers. Lastly, the Generation Z value individuality and they do not care about how famous a brand is compared to the past generations. They look for less well-known products to others by searching hashtags on Instagram which affects their brand loyalty. They tend to use different brands for different product under each category, and Polish companies are paying attention to the tendency as well. With this generation, it is difficult to increase loyal customers of a brand, but it is easier to increase loyal customers of a product.

 The young Generation Z in Poland love their country and accept global culture with an open mindset. They enjoy global online game and communicate with international friends to meet the culture both from the East and the West. The cultural acceptance of the Generation Z is the main driver of the Korean Wave in Poland.

 The size of the Polish cosmetics market in 2017 was 5.8 trillion Korean won, 6th largest in Europe, and its expected growth rate is the highest in Europe. In the Eastern European market, the cosmetics market in Poland is the largest in size and experts of Euromonitor International estimated that its market size is even bigger than Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria markets combined. This means that Poland is positioning itself as the most actively developing market in Europe despite the global recession. The Polish cosmetic consumers focus mainly on three things: naturalistic ingredients, emotional satisfaction and Made-in-Poland.

 The terms such as organic, natural, eco, well-being and LOHAS that used to lead Korea's consumption trends in the past have become trends in Poland and are being reflected in people's lifestyle. At shopping malls and on the streets of Poland, you can easily spot advertisements of rawganic-related beverages, foods, medicines, household items and cosmetics. When interviewing Polish people, they say that the interest in well-being has increased with a recent economic growth and this has made Polish people pursue rawganic lifestyle. This also had a huge impact on the growth of the aesthetic market in Poland. According to Euromonitor, the rawganic cosmetic market is one of the most actively growing markets in Poland. With an awareness of the negative impact of chemical cosmetic products, Polish consumers look for naturalistic products that are safer for health and beauty of themselves and their families. The rawganic-concept cosmetics continue to expand and Ziaja, a Polish naturalism cosmetic brand, has an overwhelming market share in the country. Various rawganic products are being introduced on several blogs and cosmetic-related social media channels covering mainly ingredients and consumers' reviews. All of these prove how Polish people value rawganic in purchasing cosmetic products.

 As introduced earlier, one of the most important factors in purchasing cosmetics in Poland is price. However, some of the low-cost local brands were not successful in the market, which shows that emotional satisfaction, that look for quality, price and service rather than simply preferring cheap products, is an important factor in cosmetic purchase in Poland.

 In addition, Polish consumers prefer global companies that produce products in Poland and contribute to Poland. In fact, global brands have manufacturing processes in Poland and make efforts to prove that they are 'Made in Poland' as an attempt to get closer to Polish consumers. It is a representative market where cooperation with local brands is truly significant.

 Poland is located in the center of Europe that allows the country to be a geographical and cultural bridge connecting the Eastern and Western Europe. They call Warsaw as Europe's hub city and such a market environment offers noticeable benefits to companies as it can satisfy various consumer needs. As Poland became an EU member country in 2014, Poland now has an easier access to the EU market. This is why attracting Polish customers will make it more convenient and easier for companies to approach European customers.

 Many people highly regard the potential of the Polish market within Europe, and I believe Poland has attractive benefits to be a strategic point when Amorepacific enters Europe in the future. With a construction boom and continued economic growth, even locals say that it is unpredictable when and how the commercial areas in Poland will change. There can be many factors for a brand to consider in making inroads into a market amid such changes, but I believe that understanding the people is the most important one. The traits of Polish people I came across during my short stay can be positive opportunities. For the rest of my stay here, I will continue to actively research how Amorepacific can utilize the rapidly changing Polish market in the cosmetic field.

 It was reported by Kim Minchoong, City Hyecho of Warsaw, Poland. Thank you.

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