Krosno, the long-established Polish glass brand, has announced ambitious plans for the years ahead. The company wants to increase sales under its own brand, building its competitive edge through design. The next three years are to be devoted to preparations for a return to the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This year, the brand is focusing strongly on e-commerce and aims to double its online sales. This channel is becoming an important route for international expansion, as reflected by the “Conqueror of America” award it received in Amazon.pl’s competition.
“Krosno Glass is doing well today. We have new owners and a new strategy. The most important thing for us is to separate the glassworks from the brand,” Iwona Pik, President of Krosno Glass, told Newseria. “Until now, the Krosno brand accounted for no more than 20 percent of our sales. We want to change that balance. We no longer want to produce so much for other luxury and premium brands – we want to produce for ourselves. That is the most important change. We have returned to our roots. What matters most is that we believed in it again and restored our historical direction.”
For years, the company has built its position as one of the most recognisable Polish brands of decorative and utility glass. Krosno, formerly known as Krośnieńskie Huty Szkła, highlights that it has been operating since 1923 and has supplied Polish glass to markets around the world ever since. Today, it is present in 70 countries. Krosno SA was one of the first companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It was delisted in 2009, when the company declared bankruptcy.
“A return to the stock exchange is not only realistic, it is also part of our investment plans. Over the next three years, we want to prepare for it so that in 2029 we can start saying that we are ready to go public,” says Iwona Pik.
The company wants to return to its design roots and once again build its advantage not only through production scale, but above all through design. Since July 2025, the glassworks has introduced 2,500 new products, focusing on crystal glass, hand-painted pieces and signed collections.
“The Krosno brand means design. In the 1960s, we were present at every exhibition and presentation, and we had many imitators. We were the ones setting trends. The most beautiful pieces came out of Krosno, and we brought together the greatest designers. We want to return to that. We are drawing on those design resources. We have just refreshed Wszewłod Sarnecki’s ‘Color in Form’ in our catalogue, along with the works of our former designers. We have shown that Krosno is not just a glassworks – it is above all about design,” says the President of Krosno Glass.
Krosno is also expanding its retail presence. In recent months, the company has opened locations in shopping centres in Warsaw and Wrocław. One of the main pillars of its new strategy is to be e-commerce. The company’s management expects a strong acceleration in online sales, including a wider presence on marketplaces, especially in the handmade segment.
“This year is above all about e-commerce. Year on year, we are seeing around 20 percent growth, and this year we are aiming to double it. A concept has emerged to enter marketplaces with handmade production, and that is our main growth driver. Krosno is currently the largest producer of handmade glass in Europe,” Iwona Pik stresses.
For mature Polish brands, marketplaces are no longer just an additional sales channel. They are becoming a tool for international expansion and for rebuilding the strength of their own brand. Krosno has been working with Amazon since 2018. It first sold on the German market, then expanded into other European markets, while also preparing for expansion into the United States. For its strong sales success in that market, the company received the “Conqueror of America” award in the “Golden Package” competition organised by Amazon.pl to mark its fifth anniversary in Poland.
The glassworks currently employs around 1,400 people, while nearly 5,000 residents of the region depend on it indirectly for their livelihoods. The company’s biggest challenge is the lack of generational succession in the profession of glassmaker and attracting young workers to the craft.
“We have an incredible team of people who have worked for Krosno for 20, 30, and sometimes even 40 years. We need young people to take over these skills,” says the President of Krosno Glass. “Since 2014, there has been no formal training for glassmakers. We have to restore it, because without that we will not be able to maintain our hand-crafted glassworks in the condition it is in today. The ‘Succession’ project and the so-called Glassmaker Academy are very important to us. Through them, we want to bring back the profession of glassmaker and give it a completely different meaning than it has today.”
