Talk:Pewex

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Pewex offered a large variety of products unavailable otherwise to the Polish population. These included jeans trousers, Coca-Cola, alcohol, sweets, toys, electronics and colour TV sets. This statement is inaccurate. Coca-cola and Pepsi were manufactured in Poland under western licenses. Putting aside these beverages, what wasn't widely available to Poles without hard currencies were western brands like Lego, Levis, M&M, Sony etc. Everything else you mentioned was available to varying degrees of quality and affordability. This statement should therefore read: Pewex offered a large variety of western brands otherwise unavailable to Poles such as Lego, Levis, Mars, Sony, etc. If I see no objections for some time then I'll make this change in the future. -- BZ

Well, yes and no... It all depends on the preiod we speak about. For instance the jeans trousers were initially available in Pekao while there were still no factories to make them in the commie bloc. Moreover, their ideological connotations were so strong that at times teachers did not permit to wear jeans at school (case of my dad!). The case of Coke and Pepsi is the same, it wasn't until Gierek that the first coke in the eastern world, the Polocockta was produced. And only thereafter both brands were introduced in Poland. As to other western brands - you're right, feel free to add more info. Be bold :) Halibutt 06:45, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

In this case the article should clarify which period it speaks of because by default the reader assumes entire communist period. alcohol, sweets, toys, electronics and unavailable otherwise to the Polish population and is clearly incorrect when entire communist period is assumed. Also, Coca Cola came to Poland in 1972 according to Polish Wikipedia and Pekao Stores became Pewex in 1974 according to http://www.gomulka.terramail.pl/slownik.htm#P. Other observations: It was possible to pay at Pewex with dollars and whether one received dollars or Bons back really depended on what the cashier had in the cash drawer - this was true in the 80's - I am not sure what the situation was before 1980. In Pewex days, the regime turned a blind eye on people owning dollars - so for example people working in the US could send money transfers to their families and one could go to the bank and get a cash payout in dollars from such transfer. The illegal behavior was trading these dollars to Polish currecy on the black market. As long as one held these dollars, traded them in at a state bank or spent them at Pewex, everything was ok. Basic foodstuffs (bread, milk, cheese) were not sold at Pewex. Toilet paper seems highly suspicious - can someone confirm this? Pewex most closely resembled a duty free gift shop at the airport or a boutique at the mall. -- BZ

Again, you're partially right and partially wrong. The fact that in the 1980's the authorities no longer persecuted dolar ownership does not mean that it was legal not to return dollars to the bank as soon as you get back from a trip abroad. Of course, the article needs expansion and explanation that in different periods of Polish history different types of economical crisis and different shortages were true. Be bold!

As to basic foodstuffs - indeed, I can't remember bread being sold in Pewex shops. On the other hand milk and dairy products (Parmalat milk, for instance) were sold there, the same applies to Swiss or Dutch cheese brands. These were sold at least in bigger Pewex shops in Warsaw, though I guess that one could buy them in smaller towns as well. As to toilet paper - I saw it with my own eyes in Pewex shop at Bruna 15 street in Warsaw, some time around 1987 or 1988.

Finally, as to coke: this article covers both the Pekao and Pewex periods in that net's existence as I saw no need to create articles on both. That's why I mentioned coke among the things that, at certain point, were unavailable to Poles. Feel free to disambiguate that. Halibutt 07:43, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

If I can put in my 2 grosz worth... I remember late seventies and eighties rather well and i can assure you, that posession of hard currency obtained by legal means was perfectly legal (different than in most other communist countries at that time). "Legal means" in this context meant: brought or received from abroad or earned as an eployee of a Polish firm or agency operating abroad. Proof: it was possible to open a hard currency account in a state-owned Pekao bank, deposit your dollars there, and withdraw them any time (provided you had a lot of time - the queues were many hours long :) ). The only reason to do it was to be able to take the money with you whan travelling abroad. This was possible only with a certificate from the bank confirming, that the money has been previously deposited there. Yes, I did have such an account.

As for Coke and Pepsi: yest it's true that they have been produced in Poland since about 1972, but only bottled. Pewex delivered canned drinks including coke and beer (Polish industry at that time was apparently unable to produce a drink can). Drinking canned drinks was thus a sign of status.