"Business above all" – the life motto of Izrael Poznański

Poznański was born just outside Łódź – in Aleksandrów Łódzki, in 1833. His father Kalman was a merchant, and the entire family belonged rather to the wealthy. Just a year after Izrael's birth, the Poznańskis moved to Łódź, and the head of the family gained the right to trade in cotton and linen fabrics. The next step on the path to enrichment was the construction of a tenement house on the Stary Rynek (Old Town Square); Kalman traded there not only in fabrics, but also in spices.

Success built on exploitation

Izrael learned entrepreneurship from his earliest years. In 1852 he became manager of the family merchant business; from that moment he began building his empire. He built his first factory in 1872 and over the next 20 years continued to purchase plots on ul. Ogrodowa (Ogrodowa Street), so as to be able to erect an entire industrial complex. His methodicalness was admirable; he built his empire gradually, expanding the complex every few years with new textile mills or workshops.

Like Scheibler, Poznański employed many people – in 1906 their number reached nearly 7,000. This does not mean, however, that the entrepreneur cared for them to a similar extent as Scheibler did; workers labored even 16 hours a day, and according to an order from 1883 (just before a strike broke out) they were to report to work also on holidays. No wonder that the phrase "business above all" was simultaneously Poznański's life motto, although his approach to business and treatment of people did not win him friends.

Charitable activity

Despite how he treated his workers, Poznański engaged in charitable work, although it is true that a sudden transformation occurred only toward the end of his life. Then he began financing hospitals, as well as schools for the poor and orphanages. He also contributed to the construction of Aleksandra Newskiego Church, for which he was subsequently decorated. It is considered that, like Scheibler and Geyer, he contributed to the construction of industrial Łódź.

Manufaktura

Like Scheibler's Księży Młyn, the empire built by Poznański had the characteristics of a "city within a city". The multi-department facility located between Drewnowska and Ogrodowa streets housed workshops, textile mills and everything that allowed the production cycle of fabric to take place essentially in one center. The complex also included a palace with a garden, factory buildings, and like in the case of Księży Młyn – a workers' settlement together with the most important public utility buildings. Today Poznański's facility – namely Manufaktura – serves a commercial and entertainment function and is the second largest shopping center in Europe. At the same time, it is considered a functional center of the city and one of its calling cards.