Preskapi was founded in 1923 by Artur Preskapi, when he opened a small butchers shop in the south of Pochiv. It was a monumentally bad time to open a shop as hyper-inflation had gripped all of the Second Polish Republic, which Pochiv was part of at the time. In the morning a piece of meat might be worth 3 million markas and by the time the evening came around its price might have risen to 5 million markas. Artur spent as much of his time changing price labels as he did butchering. However, after a tricky first 12 months, the economy stabilised and the young Artur soon had a thriving butchers on his hands.
An ambitious man, Artur quickly opened two more butchers shops in the surrounding neighbourhoods and in the 1930’s expanded his collection of shops to include a number of grocery stores.
However, rationing during the Second World War saw Artur’s businesses severely affected and in 1945 he was near bankruptcy. It looked likely that the business Artur had spent the last 20 years building would be destroyed.
However, salvation came from an unlikely place. When Pochiv was absorbed as part of the USSR, the local government officials permitted Artur’s butchers shops and groceries stores to continue to function. The lack of competition meant there was little threat to Artur’s shops, although opportunities for growth were limited.
These stores continued to operate throughout the next five decades, outlasting their founder – Artur died peacefully at home in 1971.
When Molvaria gained its independence in 1991, Preskapi was designated as one of three retailers who were permitted to build ‘supermarkets’ – a concept that was alien to the Molvarian people. Preskapi quickly grew throughout the country and now prides itself as purveyors of high-quality products.
We think Artur would be proud.