We are proud to announce that Agnieszka Pakulska, Partner at Avallon MBO, has been recognized in the prestigious Forbes Women Poland 25 Top Investors list.
Agnieszka is the author of key transactions and co-creator of projects that consistently enhance the value of portfolio companies. She combines investment discipline with a long-term approach to developing businesses and teams, while actively promoting the presence of women in private equity, including as a co-founder of the Level20 initiative.
At Avallon MBO, diversity and professionalism are integral to our teams. We believe that teams combining different experiences make better decisions and create lasting value.
Congratulations to Agnieszka and all the distinguished investors!
https://www.forbes.pl/forbeswomen/lista-forbes-women-25-top-inwestorek/2fs54v0

Our portfolio company MPPK – a distributor of premium pet food brands for dogs and cats, Wiejska Zagroda and Pan Mięsko – has been building a strong position in the pet food segment for years. At the same time, it is doing something equally important: consistently supporting animal welfare.
Together with Joanna Krupa, her friends, and Media Expert (Terg), the MPPK team visited places where every form of support truly matters:

3 shelters,
6 tons of pet food,
1 shared idea – to help in a smart and responsible way.

This was not a one-off PR initiative, but part of a broader, long-term approach – from ongoing cooperation with shelters and support for adoptions to educational activities promoting responsible pet ownership.
MPPK demonstrates that the pet food industry can set standards – both in quality and in ethics. Business scale and sensitivity do not have to be mutually exclusive. On the contrary, together they create lasting value.

A compelling article was published in the daily Rzeczpospolita, based on data from Dun & Bradstreet Poland, illustrating the scale and dynamics of the domestic e-commerce market: nearly 75,000 online stores in Poland, on average more than six new ones launched daily, but at the same time a growing number of business closures and suspensions. This is a good moment to view e-commerce not through the lens of a boom, but rather of market maturity and selection.
In the article, Weronika Jaskóła, Investment Analyst at AvallonMBO, accurately describes this stage of market development:
“This is a signal of increasing rotation — launching a store is easy, but maintaining and scaling it is becoming increasingly difficult without a clear competitive advantage.”
As she further emphasizes, a net increase of around 2,400 e-stores over 12 months and a pace of about 200 new entities per month indicate stable growth rather than another boom wave. Approaching the level of 75,000 stores is more a sign of market saturation and fragmentation.
At Avallon MBO, Weronika is responsible, among other things, for S’portofino — a premium brand in the sport & fashion segment that combines scalable e-commerce with a network of brick-and-mortar boutiques. It is precisely such models — omnichannel, brand-driven, focused on service quality, logistics, and data-driven operations — that increasingly demonstrate where real competitive advantage is being built today. Growing pressure from global marketplaces, including platforms from outside the EU, is only accelerating this process.
For investors, the conclusion is clear: e-commerce continues to grow, but value is created by those who can go beyond “mere online presence” and build a resilient, scalable business model.
The full article can be read at the following link:
https://pro.rp.pl/raporty-ekonomiczne/art43687641-polacy-radza-sobie-z-chinczykami-codziennie-powstaje-szesc-nowych-e-sklepow

In a commentary published by OOH Magazine, Krzysztof Kuźbik, Partner at Avallon MBO, notes that Black Friday 2025 is becoming a test of operational, technological, and analytical maturity for Polish retail companies.

“Black Friday 2025 is a moment when competitive advantage is built not through aggressive discount policies, but through the ability to work precisely with data, forecast demand, optimize inventory, and seamlessly integrate sales channels. For many organizations, this is a practical test of process quality, the maturity of analytical systems, and their real readiness to scale,”  he emphasizes.

In his commentary, he highlights several key phenomena:

1. A more conscious and rational consumer
Black Friday is primarily a moment for executing previously planned purchases (electronics, home appliances/consumer electronics, fashion, beauty), with high price sensitivity and widespread use of comparison engines and price-tracking tools.

2. The growing role of AI and hyper-personalization
Retailers increasingly use recommendation engines, predictive segmentation, and shopping-path analytics. As a result, different customer groups see different offers, discounts, and messages — which strengthens the position of companies with the most integrated data.

3. Operations as a source of competitive advantage
Platform stability, last-mile logistics, efficient return processes, and payment handling have a direct impact on conversion and Black Friday sales results.

4. Dynamic pricing and inventory management
AI-based models help forecast demand at the SKU level, adjust discounts, and allocate promotional budgets in real time — improving turnover while reducing below-cost sell-offs.

From Avallon MBO’s perspective, this is a clear signal that Polish retail and e-commerce are entering a phase of mature management, in which process scalability, operational efficiency, data integration, and technological resilience of organizations become crucial.

Agnieszka Pakulska, Partner at Avallon MBO, took part as an expert in a discussion panel accompanying the launch of the latest “M&A Outlook 2025” report prepared by EY Poland.
The key takeaways from the report include:

Mergers and acquisitions are becoming a permanent element of Polish companies’ strategies, rather than just a reaction to market opportunities.
Buyers are increasingly acting with clearly defined goals, schedules, and thorough preparation.
Sellers need advisory support not only in financial matters but also in organizational and emotional aspects.

At Avallon, we have been working for years with companies at various stages of the M&A process – as an investor, partner, and advisor to business owners. We are glad to contribute a practical perspective to this discussion, built on dozens of completed transactions and hundreds of meetings with entrepreneurs and managers from across Poland.