Warsaw Business Journal

18/09/2025

Confidence, Not Grammar: What Poles Need to Speak English Better

A nationwide study by language school chain Tutlo explores how Poles use English in everyday life—and what holds them back. Based on a 2025 survey of 1,100 adults, the report uncovers a significant gap between theoretical knowledge and practical speaking ability:

🔹 59% feel stress or embarrassment when speaking
🔹 70% haven’t had a recent chance to speak at all
🔹 Only 15% rate their speaking skills as “good”
🔹 74% say school didn’t prepare them for real conversation

Despite these barriers:

✅ 69% say English is essential for career advancement
❗ 28% of non-speakers feel excluded from culture or job opportunities

The key takeaway? Poles want to speak English—what’s missing is practice, confidence, and real-world communication skills.

Do Poles Bite Their Tongues? How We Speak English is a nationwide report examining how Poles use English in daily life, their confidence levels, and what helps or hinders them. Based on a 2025 survey of 1,100 adults, it explores self-assessed proficiency, emotions, and habits related to speaking Eng...

16/09/2025

📉 Poland’s inflation nears target—but services keep pressure high

In August 2025, inflation dropped to 2.9%, approaching the NBP's target. Falling goods prices (-0.3% m/m) led the decline, but services rose 0.7% and remain 6% higher year-on-year, fueled by rising wages and shifting consumer habits.

🔍 Core inflation likely fell to 3.1–3.2%, its lowest since the pandemic—strengthening the case for interest rate cuts.

💬 Economists say service inflation remains sticky due to:

- Ongoing labor shortages
- Past sharp minimum wage hikes
- Strong wage growth (+7.6% y/y in July)

Despite easing overall inflation, service prices aren’t expected to fall anytime soon.

Poland’s inflation fell to 2.9% in August 2025, nearing the central bank’s target, mainly due to falling goods prices (down 0.3% m/m). However, service prices rose 0.7% and remain 6% higher y/y, driven by strong wage growth and shifting consumer habits toward more services. Core inflation likely...

11/09/2025

🏙️ Warsaw’s Offices Go Lifestyle

Warsaw’s office buildings aren’t just for work anymore—they’re evolving into full-fledged lifestyle hubs, according to Colliers.

📊 As of 2025:
• 384 buildings now include retail & service space (+8% YoY)
• 281,000 m² total space
• 1 in 3 outlets = cafés, bistros, and restaurants
• Rooftop venues often double as event spaces with city views

🧘‍♀️ What’s inside?
• 168 health & beauty spots
• Fitness = 70% of all recreational offers
• Nurseries, preschools & language schools support work-life balance
• 87% of outlets on the ground floor, 73% with direct street access

Despite the expansion, vacancy is holding steady at 14.26%—proof there’s demand for offices that blend work, leisure, and convenience.

Warsaw’s office buildings are no longer just workplaces but increasingly function as lifestyle hubs, according to Colliers. The number of buildings with retail and service space has risen 8% since 2023, reaching 384 facilities and 281,000 sq m of space in 2025. Catering outlets lead new openings, ...

09/09/2025

WBJ was on the ground at CD Action Expo 2025 in Łódź, where Poland’s gaming scene took center stage.

From packed panels to exclusive interviews, the weekend highlighted the strength—and global reach—of Polish game development.

🎮 “The Witcher is no longer just a game—it’s a brand,” said Kajetan Kapuściński, Cinematic Director at CD PROJEKT RED, during a panel marking 10 years of Witcher 3. “We’re proud to have created something that resonates worldwide.”

🔥 Meanwhile, 11 bit studios’ Paweł Miechowski reflected on the sleeper success of The Alters:
“It’s a bit of a ‘black horse’—less expected, but with great reviews and strong sales.”

📢 WBJ also sat down with Daniel Bartosik, the Editor-in-Chief of Magazyn CD-Action and Barnaba Siegel, special projects, head of cdaction.pl to discuss the evolution of Poland’s gaming media landscape.

👉 Stay tuned for our full report on the state of the Polish gaming industry in the October issue of WBJ—including exclusive insights from the studios shaping its future.

04/09/2025

🏙️ Warsaw and Kraków Now Rival Rome in Housing Prices 🏡💶

Poland’s property boom is making waves across Europe. In 2024, Kraków saw the steepest housing price jump among major cities, up +28.1% to €3,800/m² (~16,180 PLN), according to Deloitte.

In Warsaw, the average price hit €3,849/m² (~16,390 PLN) — nearly identical to Rome.

📈 Nationwide, Poland saw the sharpest price increase in Europe (+19%), pushing a 70 m² flat to almost 10x the average annual salary.

Deloitte warns that even with interest-rate cuts, affordability may worsen due to limited supply and rising costs.

Other highlights:

🇱🇺 Luxembourg remains Europe’s most expensive market (€8,760/m²)

🇹🇷 Turkey, 🇧🇦 Bosnia, 🇦🇱 Albania are the most affordable

🏘️ Katowice is Poland’s most accessible city (7x income ratio)

Poland is at the forefront of Europe’s housing inflation, with Kraków posting the steepest year-on-year price growth among major cities in 2024, according to Deloitte. The city’s average cost per square meter rose 28.1% to €3,800 (approx. 16,180 PLN). Nationwide, housing prices climbed over 1...

03/09/2025

WBJ will be at CD-Action Expo 2025 in Łódź (Sept 6–7), Poland’s biggest celebration of gaming, pop culture, and digital creativity.

With four content-packed stages, the event features top names in gamedev, panels with CD Projekt RED, Techland, and Bandai Namco, plus deep dives into fandoms from Star Wars to Witcher.

We’ll be interviewing exhibitors and collecting insights for our next big feature on Poland’s gaming market. See you at Atlas Arena!

02/09/2025

📉 For the first time since the Berlin Wall fell, more Poles are leaving Germany than arriving.

🇵🇱 In 2024, 88,388 Poles left Germany, while only 76,320 moved in — a net decline of over 12,000, according to official German stats.

Why the shift?
🔹 Poland’s economy is booming (nearly 5% growth)
🔹 Unemployment remains low
🔹 Wages in Warsaw rival Berlin’s
🔹 Cost of living is lower
🔹 Frustration with Germany’s red tape and stagnation

After decades of migration west, Poles “no longer need to leave,” according to Times.

For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, more Poles have left Germany than arrived. In 2024, 76,320 Poles moved to Germany, while 88,388 left, a net decline of 12,068, according to German statistics. The Times reports that return migration is driven by Poland’s dynamic economy, low un...

29/08/2025

🎮 CD-Action Expo 2025 lands in Łódź this September!
On September 6–7, gaming fans, developers, and pop culture enthusiasts will gather at Atlas Arena for two full days of panels, workshops, and community events hosted by Gaming Tech Esports S.A.

🕹️ What to expect?
Four dynamic stages, dozens of expert talks, and hands-on experiences from some of Poland’s top creators and studios. Key program highlights include:

🔹 Main Stage Highlights

Indieapokalipsa — state of the indie scene

CD Projekt RED behind the scenes (Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3 retrospectives)

Star Wars, DC, Marvel and the future of fandoms

Techland celebrates 10 years of Dying Light

Pop culture panels on Dragon Ball, Ciri’s canon, and slasher cinema

🔹 Gamedev Area

Trailer creation, level design, and solo development

Game marketing AMA sessions

The truth behind production pipelines (and what devs don’t tell you)

🔹 Community & Content Zones

Interactive workshops on fencing, cryptography, and romhacking

“Gothic Takeover” on Sunday with modding masterclasses, film screenings, and a behind-the-scenes look at the Sons of Jharkendar animated project

📍 Don’t miss two packed days of game culture, industry insight, and fan-powered energy in the heart of Łódź.

Find out more: https://expo.cdaction.pl/

28/08/2025

🚄 Poland is accelerating plans for Europe’s fastest railway and a major new airport.

At a Cabinet Council meeting, Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak confirmed that the Central Communication Port (CPK) and high-speed rail (350 km/h) are moving forward:

🔹 Warsaw–Poznań in under 100 min
🔹 Warsaw–CPK Airport in 15–17 min
🔹 New CPK Airport (34M pax capacity) to open in 2032
🔹 Full “Y” rail line to Poznań and Wrocław by 2035
🔹 Construction starts 2026

Klimczak emphasized that strategic investments—including the PLN 2B A2 expansion—will remain fully in Polish hands, ensuring domestic control over infrastructure and profits.

Poland is pressing ahead with the Central Communication Port (CPK) and a high-speed rail system designed for trains reaching 350 km/h, Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak announced after a Cabinet Council meeting. The project aims to create Europe’s fastest railway, linking Warsaw with Łód....

26/08/2025

📊 Poland’s regional office markets in H1 2025 (according to JLL):

Lease renegotiations dominated, making up ~60% of demand as tenants opted to extend contracts amid high relocation costs and scarce new supply.

Kraków led the way (70% renegotiations; 172,000 m² total leased), with major deals from Shell (23,000 m²) and Motorola (17,000 m²).

Regional leasing hit 390,000 m² (+37% y/y), while new supply was minimal (2,400 m², keeping stock at 6.75M m²).

Vacancy averaged 17.5%, highest in Katowice, Łódź, and Wrocław.

Rents stable: €11–20/m², with Kraków at the top and Lublin the lowest.

👉 Limited supply and cost pressures are reshaping tenant strategies across Poland’s key cities.

Real estate Office property 17:00 25 August 2025 Post by: WBJ Report: record low supply of new office space for rent on local markets

21/08/2025

📚🎶 Empik is cementing its place as Poland’s go-to omnichannel retailer.

In 2024, GMV reached a record PLN 4.2 billion (+15% y/y), with e-commerce now half of revenues—driven by a fast-growing marketplace that’s set to top PLN 1 billion in 2025.

Its 370 stores double as local growth engines, boosting online sales two- to threefold when new locations open. Alongside this, Empik is expanding private labels, investing PLN 100 million annually in tech, logistics, and customer experience, and enhancing engagement through loyalty, retail media, and AI personalization.

Even as it diversifies, books remain a stable pillar—keeping tradition at the heart of innovation.

Empik, Poland’s leading books, music, and toys retailer, is accelerating growth with a strong omnichannel model. In 2024, GMV reached a record PLN 4.2 bln, up 15% y/y, with e-commerce now driving half of revenues—40% from the rapidly expanding marketplace, which grew sales 60% and is set to exce...

19/08/2025

Poland’s warehouse and industrial market continued to grow in H1 2025, according to Savills.

- Modern stock surpassed 36 million m², with 1.15 million m² delivered—almost 60% of it in Q1.

- New projects were in high demand, with 61% of space pre-leased on average and nearly 80% in Q2.

- Warsaw and its suburbs now exceed 7 million m², reinforcing their role as a key Central European logistics hub.

- The largest deliveries came from Wrocław (294,000 m²), Upper Silesia (256,000 m²), and Warsaw (155,000 m²).

- Space under construction reached 1.47 million m², down 35% year-on-year, but nearly 60% was already pre-let.

- Notable new projects include 7R Park Gdańsk III and Panattoni’s BTS facility for BSH in Rzeszów.

- Leasing activity was strong, with take-up totaling 2.95 million m², including a major deal with Shein.

- The vacancy rate fell to 7.9%, while prime rents remained stable at €3.50–6.75/m².

Savills expects balanced growth ahead, driven by demand from food, defense, and high-tech manufacturing sectors.

Poland’s warehouse and industrial market continued to expand in H1 2025, according to Savills. Total modern stock passed 36 million sq m, with 1.15 million sq m delivered—59% in Q1. Occupancy for new projects averaged 61%, rising to 80% in Q2. Warsaw and its suburbs now exceed 7 million sq m, co...