ABSTRACT
The foundation stone of the Bradford partners’ strategy in Russian Poland, even before land acquisition and plant construction, was to forge trust-based relationships among Warsaw’s commercial elite. The cooperation of local suppliers and contractors, as well as the long-term success of the enterprise, rested on their effective integration into the local business network. However, as the cultural and administrative hub of the Kingdom of Poland, Warsaw’s economy was dominated by banking and light industries, not by textile manufacture. This chapter will consider how, with little common ground in the field of commerce, the Briggs-Posselt partnership adapted the age-old tactics of international merchant venturers to embed themselves in Warsaw’s business community and realise their plans for Marki. Far removed from their familiar milieu of woolmen, it will reveal the rich and diverse opportunities that the host nation presented to the venture capitalists.
