Lycos gives up on Poland
Lycos Europe, this continent’s part of one of the largest internet concerns in the world, has given up on Poland after giving the matter a lot of thought.
Lycos Poland was registered, an office was rented and equipment purchased. The company even signed a contract with an internet provider and hired a PR agency.
Kai Bolik, development director for Europe says that Lycos Poland is still studying the market and that a decision should be made in the next few months. That is the official line.
The other side is that workers are being laid off, computers sold and the company liquidated.
No-one wished to comment on the situation. However the reason for the withdrawal decision could be linked to the German Bertelsmann which is a major shareholder of Lycos Europe and hopes to go public. The internet side of the business could have been ordered to get its affairs sorted out immediately especially as Lycos Europe has never reported a profit.
Lycos could decide to open up in Poland. It has an office in Moscow and a Russian version of the portal is available on www.lycos.ru.
Lycos Europe believes that a significant part of its turnover could come from Russia.