Dino Polska's origin

Imagine a supermarket chain that quietly yet powerfully transforms a nation’s grocery habits, one rural town at a time. Dino Polska, a fast-growing supermarket chain in Poland.

If there is only one key point you should take away from this article, it’s this:

Dino Polska has become as popular in Poland as Walmart in the U.S. It started with just one store in 1999 and now has over 2500 stores by the middle of 2024. Dino’s expansion strategy and its potential to continue growing make it a very interesting business to watch.

Want to know more? Keep reading, then.

---

This compounder has grown at a CAGR of 35.2% per year! And has grown by 814% since April 2017!

It’s not a technology company. It’s not listed in the United States. Furthermore, it’s not even a high-margin industry…

Let’s talk about a boring, simple yet extremely successful business: Dino Polska.

Imagine a supermarket chain that quietly yet powerfully transforms a nation’s grocery habits, one rural town at a time. Dino Polska, a supermarket chain in Poland, has done just that since it opened its first branch in 1999.

Key Points:

• Founder: Tomasz Biernacki, at 26, launched Dino Polska.

• Vision: Bring fresh, affordable groceries to Poland’s small towns and rural areas.

• Growth: Today, Dino Polska is as ubiquitous in Poland as Walmart is in the U.S.

Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) under the ticker symbol DNP, Dino Polska operates in a country where the zloty is the official currency. For context, 1 zloty is roughly equal to €0.25. As a Dino Polska shareholder, I’m excited to take you through the journey of this remarkable company—one that’s poised to continue its rapid expansion across Poland.

---

Dino’s history

Dino Polska’s story begins in the Wielkopolska region of Western Poland, where it opened its first supermarket in 1999 under the leadership of founder Tomasz Biernacki.

The location? Krotoszyn, a small town with a population of about 30.000, is where Dino's headquarters are still located today. Interestingly, this small town alone now counts 11 Dino Polska supermarkets, a testament to the brand’s deep roots and strong local appeal.

In 2002, to support its growing network of stores, Dino opened its first distribution center, once again in Krotoszyn. A year later, in 2003, the company achieved a important milestone by acquiring the Agro-Rydzyna meat factory. This move allowed Dino to vertically integrate its supply chain, gaining control over the processed meats division—a crucial aspect of Polish cuisine and culture.

Between 1999 and 2004, Dino experimented with different types of supermarkets, varying in size, product offerings, and location—both within cities and on their outskirts. It was during this period that Dino’s management identified a golden opportunity: to expand medium-sized supermarkets in small and medium-sized cities, where competition was less fierce, and demand for convenient, local shopping was high. From that moment on, this strategy became Dino’s blueprint for success, and it’s the same strategy that the company applies throughout Poland today.

By 2010, Dino had reached 100 supermarkets. Just three years later, the chain celebrated the opening of its 300th store, and by 2015, it had grown to 500 supermarkets. Today, Dino Polska has achieved a fivefold increase compared to 2015, operating around 2,406 supermarkets across Poland—a truly staggering pace of growth.

So, how has this extraordinary expansion been possible? Dino itself attributes its success to a simple yet powerful belief: “This was possible thanks to our unwavering belief that fresh food, including meats and sausages sold from behind a traditional counter, are, and will continue to be, the most important items on the everyday shopping lists of Poles.” This commitment to fresh, high-quality products at affordable prices has endeared Dino to its customers, particularly in rural and semi-rural areas where the chain has thrived.

In 2017, Dino took another significant step forward by joining the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This move came after former shareholder Enterprise Investors decided to sell their shares, providing Dino with an opportunity to raise capital and further accelerate its growth. In 2019, the company began installing solar panels on new and existing supermarkets, signaling its commitment to sustainability—a factor that’s increasingly important to today’s consumers.

The years 2021 and 2022 marked another remarkable chapter in Dino’s story, as the company opened a new supermarket every single day on average. This relentless expansion has solidified Dino Polska’s position as one of Poland’s leading supermarket chains, with no signs of slowing down.

Today, this map shows the chain of Dino stores as of December 31, 2022. Today, it’s even more than this. In June 2024, Dino’s network consisted of 2504 stores.

That’s 98 new store openings in just 6 months.

As we delve deeper into Dino Polska’s business model, growth strategy, and future prospects, it’s clear that this is a company with a bright future—one that’s transforming Poland's grocery landscape and offering exciting opportunities for investors.

Want to know more? And get our entire fundamental deep dive into Dino Polska? Check it out on www.thedutchinvestors.com