Bioeco by Arka 1927, the brand of the Polish company Arka, is looking for agents in Germany, France, Spain and Italy as it readies for a big push in sales. The company will also be present at Magic Las Vegas, scheduled from Aug. 8 to 10, to test the U.S. market and possibly find an agent to cover the country. [C-Suite interview: Bioeco gears up for big push in Europe, prepares to test the U.S. market – shoeintelligence.com]
The company, which is based in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, near Kraków produces 500 pairs of shoes a day and is already largely dependent on foreign markets. The company only generates 30 percent of its revenues in Poland, where it has five agents placing its goods with wholesale accounts. Arka also has a factory store and plans to open its first Bioeco store in July near its home town. The store will be big enough to also manage the brand’s website.
E-commerce only represents about 2 percent of Bioeco’s sales and the company does not see direct-to-consumer sales as a priority, preferring to favor multibrand resellers.
“Our priority is internationalization, regarding the development of a store network we will see,” explains Michał Góralczyk, who took over the management, jointly with his father, of the company founded by his grandfather Stanislaw.
Ireland is Bioeco’s second largest market. Other key markets are Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Estonia. The company is represented by agents in all countries. The agent covering Ireland also has a mandate for the U.K., where he has started to sell.
Bioeco currently has some clients in Italy that are managed directly from its headquarters but has no clients in Germany, France and Spain. “For large markets we can have several agents, but we are also ready to give exclusive mandates for each market. We are open to solutions,” commented Góralczyk.
Before the war in Ukraine, the country represented about 5 percent of Bioeco’s sales in volume. The company also has an agent in Russia, but it has stopped trading with the country.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, leading to a collapse of the Ukrainian economy and prompting Poles, which share a common border with Ukraine, to temporarily stop shopping non-essential goods. “It was like another (Covid-19) lockdown, but the situation is back to normal now,” points out Góralczyk. The company still continues working with a Ukrainian sole manufacturer based in Odessa.
Góralczyk stressed that the war is not the reason for the company’s attempt to expand in Western markets. “We are interested in the whole world, but everything depends on finding good agents,” he added.
The company claims to be back to pre-pandemic production levels and plans to double its manufacturing capacity to serve new markets. “The production expansion will depend on the response of new markets,” said Góralczyk, who warned that the main obstacle to increasing capacity is the lack of skilled labor.
Bioeco specializes in classic women’s shoes with a focus on comfort. It holds a patent for the Soft Step System. Its shoes have factory prices starting at €39 for entry price models to €75 for stretch boots.
The company was created in 1927, specializing in exclusive shoes mainly for men. Before the outbreak of World War II, the company had a weekly production about 300 pairs. With the introduction of Communist in Poland after the war, the business continued as a low-profile private concern with a limited production. The company’s name changed to Arka when the founder’s son, Jan, took over. Michał created the Bioeco brand about 15 years ago.
