Empik (stylised as empi̓k) is a Polish commercial chain selling
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...
s, international
press and media products (including film, music, and software). The chain also owns a photo company, Empik Foto, as well as a foreign language school, Empik School.
History
EMPiK chain began during Poland's communist period as KMPiK ( pl, Klub Międzynarodowej Prasy i Książki, the International Press and Book Club) owned by the
Prasa-Książka-Ruch
The RSW Prasa-Książka-Ruch literally the Workers' Publishing Cooperative abbreviated to RSW ( pl, Robotnicza Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza ), was a state-owned newspaper monopoly in communist Poland founded on 1 January 1973 by the Polish United W ...
monopoly which financed the
PZPR
The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other leg ...
Party from its revenue. In 1991 it was acquired by businessmen Jacek Dębski, Janusz Romanowski (a former reserve police officer) and
Yaron Bruckner
Ronny Bruckner, also known as Yaron Bruckner (31 March 1957 – 4 August 2013), was a Belgian businessman.
Career
Bruckner started his career aged 20, as director of Zidav, a company specialising in establishing trading partnerships with Rom ...
, and given its current name. While initially it was partially owned by the Polish state, in 1994 it was sold completely by the
State Treasury to Bruckner's
Eastbridge N.V. In May 2009 EMPiK had 134 stores in Poland and 23 stores in Ukraine.
[From Polish Wikipedia]
See also
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List of bookstore chains
Notes
External links
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{{Authority control
Companies based in Warsaw
Retail companies established in 1991
Bookstores of Poland
Language schools
Polish brands
Polish Limited Liability Companies