Baltona is an enterprise created in 1946 in Poland. Nationalized

Nationalization

Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...

 and subordinated to Polish communist Ministry of Foreign Trade in 1950, it was tasked with resupplying Polish ships, planes, diplomatic posts, airports, seaports, border crossings, and even scientific expeditions. The company grew and became a large export-import company during the 1970s and 1980s. During the time of People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

 it was one of the few companies offering Western goods to Polish consumers for foreign (hard) currency

Hard currency

Hard currency , in economics, refers to a globally traded currency that is expected to serve as a reliable and stable store of value...

. At the height of its popularity during the mid-1980s Baltona operated nearly 250 stores and had over 2,000 employees. In 1984 it was transformed into a joint stock company

Joint stock company

A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...

( or S.A.).