Żabka, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Poznań, is Poland’s leading convenience store chain with over 11,000 locations and more than 4,000 employees. Renowned for its innovative approach, Żabka serves millions of customers daily, offering quick shopping, ready meals, and a range of in-store services. The company continues to expand rapidly, having recently entered Romania under the Froo brand and pioneering new retail formats, such as unmanned Żabka Nano stores. In 2024, Newsweek ranked Żabka as the world’s 2nd most loved workplace, highlighting its strong employee engagement and workplace culture.
While preparing for its IPO, Żabka faced a critical challenge: rolling out its first-ever share incentive plans as a public company. The program covers certain executive directors (including the CEO), members of the Management Committee, managers, and key employees of the Group selected based on the roles of such individuals within the Group and their influence on the Group’s results. The 2025-2027 plan included both Performance Share Units (PSUs) and Restricted Share Units (RSUs), adding significant pressure to already stretched HR and finance teams.
The PSU structure introduced further complexity. Awards vested in thirds annually over three years, but some vested shares could be deferred for up to two years. Final delivery followed the approval of the 2027 financial statements, and deferred shares could be reduced to zero based on performance during the plan period.
Additional concerns included meeting regulatory requirements, keeping equity data accurate and audit-ready, and making these complex plans easy for the participants to understand. These combined pressures highlighted Żabka’s need for expert support and easy-to-use management tools to streamline the equity plan implementation alongside IPO preparations.
“Managing all these details at once is overwhelming,” said Pawel Brzóskowski, Żabka’s Group Head of Rewards. “The process takes much longer than expected, and new issues keep coming up.”
The impact was immediate. Żabka successfully launched a complex equity plan at the time of the IPO, earning strong feedback from employees and leadership.