Kodano Optyk plans six new franchised opticians

Kodano Optyk has expanded its network with a franchised branch in Wieluń and announced further openings. The brand plans to launch six franchised outlets in Poland by 31 December 2026. It is also expanding its company-owned network and international operations. For prospective franchisees considering the Polish market, the key detail is the list of locations covered by the next phase of expansion.

Wieluń now open, with six more locations planned

The new Kodano Optyk franchise in Wieluń is at 15 Warszawska Street, directly beside the Lilia Garden Centre. Its opening precedes a planned series of further launches towards the end of the year. SCF News reported the network’s expansion on 2 November.

Under the announced plan, new franchised branches are due to open by the end of December in six locations:

• Dzierżoniów,
• Rzeszów,
• Krosno Odrzańskie,
• Mińsk Mazowiecki,
• Zawiercie,
• Zalasewo.

The list covers locations across Poland rather than a single region. The announcement therefore suggests that openings are being prepared in several parts of the country at the same time. However, planned outlets should not be confused with branches already serving customers: Wieluń is described as an opening that has taken place, while the other six locations remain planned for the coming weeks.

The 31 December deadline applies to the entire group of newly announced branches. When assessing the pace of expansion, it will therefore be important to distinguish between the stated timetable and subsequent confirmation that individual outlets have opened. As of early November, the news is a plan for six further openings, not the completion of this phase of growth.

Franchises alongside company-owned branches

Kodano Optyk operates a model in which company-owned and franchised outlets trade under the same brand. The six announced openings in Poland belong to the latter category. At the same time, the company says it will continue expanding its own network of physical branches.

This distinction matters to entrepreneurs exploring opportunities to work with the brand. Growth across the whole network and growth in its franchised segment are not the same measure. In this case, the announcement makes a specific commitment relating to franchise partners: six new branches in the named locations are intended to operate as franchises.

The Wieluń opening, meanwhile, shows that franchise expansion is not limited to announcements of future investment. The network now has another operational franchised outlet. However, the opening alone says nothing about its financial performance or the terms available to future franchisees.

For those assessing the franchise opportunity, the number of new addresses is therefore not the only consideration. It is equally important to establish which openings are being delivered by franchisees and which by the company itself. Only by separating the two can readers accurately assess the scale of the franchise model without attributing all of the brand’s growth to it.

Polish expansion in the context of international growth

The planned openings in Poland form part of Kodano Optyk’s wider expansion. According to SCF News, the company expects to open more than 20 new branches in Central and Eastern European markets in 2026. Its international network is expected to grow from 12 outlets to nearly 40 physical branches by the end of the year.

These figures relate to operations outside Poland and should not be added to the Polish openings to produce a single franchise expansion total. The announcement of six domestic branches explicitly identifies them as franchises. The international plan, by contrast, describes the expansion of physical branches without making the same distinction about how each outlet will be operated.

Both plans look ahead to the end of 2026. The scale of international growth provides context for the Polish expansion, but does not confirm that the domestic timetable has been met. For a prospective franchisee, understanding how the Polish franchise arrangement works will be more useful than the total number of branches.

What to check before discussing a franchise

Kodano S.A. describes itself as a Polish optical group. According to its own information, it manufactures and distributes lenses and frames, operates an online shop and a laboratory, and develops company-owned and franchised branches under the Kodano Optyk brand. The group’s activities therefore extend beyond sales through physical outlets.

However, prospective partners should not automatically assume that all these resources are available to franchisees on the same terms. Anyone considering a franchise should ask about supply arrangements, the laboratory’s role, the relationship between branch sales and online retail, and the division of responsibilities between head office and the outlet owner. Initial investment, fees, premises requirements and the rules governing operations in a particular location also need to be checked separately.

Practical takeaway: the six announced openings are a concrete sign of growth in Kodano Optyk’s franchise network. However, a decision to join should be based on the contract terms and financial projections for your own branch, rather than solely on the brand’s pace of expansion.