So how does your sales structure look? How much of your sales goes to state administration, and how much to SMEs and corporate clients?
It is difficult to estimate because of the variety of our products and the fact that consumer products are often sold through our dealer network. If we look at large IT solutions, such as services or large hardware products such as servers - then in hardware SMEs make up about 50 percent of our sales and this figure is growing rapidly. State administration makes up between 25 and 30 percent of the second half. Large corporations make up the remainder. The proportions could change as we are noticing the awakening of the state administration and signs that the contracts postponed could be implemented this year.
For us it‘s not so important what the share of each segment is. What‘s important for us is what share of a large client‘s wallet we have. We want to be seen not as a printer or a toner supplier, but rather as company providing a whole range of products.
In 2005 one of the biggest investments in Poland was your undertaking in Wrocław, where you started to build a financial center. What is the current state of this investment?
The investment is currently being carried out. It‘s a business-process outsourcing plant, where we will hire people who will serve both HP as well as other companies in the area of business and financial services. We plan to employ 2,000 people there and currently there are around 700 already working. The pace of the development of the investment is faster than we expected. Initially we planned to employ 1,200, but very quickly we had to change our plans due to the very high interest both from HP subsidiaries as well as from other companies. This means that the value of the investment will be higher than the initially estimated $50 (zł.140.3) million. However, the most important thing is that a few hundred additional jobs will be created, jobs requiring high qualifications which will go to young people, who will stay in Poland.
Why did you choose Wrocław?
We chose Wrocław because of the favorable investment conditions. The city really fought for the investment. The fact that Wrocław is a large academic center and a source of skilled labor was also influential.
In 1999 HP Polska was named the best HP subsidiary in the world. How was this achieved?
The reason why we were named the company‘s best subsidiary was the fact that at that time we were the only HP subsidiary larger than IBM‘s equivalent subsidiary. The merger with Compaq in 2002 further strengthened our position, but other subsidiaries around the world were also strengthened. Last year HP as a whole happened to be the biggest IT company worldwide.
What are the company‘s financial results like?
It is our corporate policy not to disclose the financial results of subsidiaries. However, what we can say is that HP Polska is growing at a pace of over 10 percent annually. The CEE region is generally the most dynamic market in the world for HP, and Poland is one of the fastest-growing markets in the region. We are growing strongly in Poland and the growth shows no signs of stopping despite the growing sales volume.
Are you afraid that the market will become saturated soon?
In the case of some products, we are reaching a point of saturation as more and more companies already have them. This results in the growing importance and growing sales of other products. For example, our services department is developing really well and at a much faster pace than the hardware department. It is a natural trend.
Recently there was news in the media about HP firing a woman who was unable to come to work after having a miscarriage. Are you afraid this will harm your image?
It‘s a great personal tragedy for her. What we have done is invite her to discuss the state that she is in and to listen to her concerns. We have also invited her legal employer, Manpower, to the meeting, because this is the company that employed her during her work for us.
Michał Pakulniewicz: Last year many IT firms complained that a standstill in IT tenders for state administration hurt their results. How did the situation affect HP?
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