Internet shopping new retail choice

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The retail sector has seen the greatest amount of mergers and acquisitions. In 2011 there were 11 M&As in this sector and five in the first quarter of 2012. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Turkey’s retail sector, which exceeded $302 billion in 2011, is expected to reach $421 billion in 2015, according to the “Retail Sector Analysis” report published yesterday by Deloitte Turkey.

The report also anticipates that in 2012 the Turkish real estate sector will grow to $313 billion and will continue to grow approximately 10 percent every year until 2016. The report also highlights the rapid growth in internet retail shopping, which has caught the attention of investors.

“Turkey’s young population, economic performance and low rate of organized retail penetration compared to developed countries have made it very attractive to investors,” said Deloitte Turkey Corporate Finance Partner Başak Vardar. “In the last period, internet retail has really picked up, as have all the other segments of the retail sector.”

According to the report, when retail sales of food are excluded, the remainder amounts to 48 percent of the retail sector. Of

this 48 percent, 40 percent is organized retail.

Internet retail booming

Some 45 percent of the Turkish population uses the Internet and seven percent of these users make retail purchases online, according to recent statistics published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Internet credit card purchases have achieved a turnover of 23 billion Turkish Liras. Turkish Internet shopping brands like Hepsiburada and Markafoni are now among the top 150 European e-trade internet sites, according to the Deloitte report. Investors have shown particular interest in Markafoni, Trendyol, Çiçeksepeti, and e-bebek, among others.

The report also notes that the retail sector is one of the sectors in Turkey which has witnessed the greatest number of mergers and acquisitions. In 2011, there were 11 mergers and acquisitions in this sector, and in the first half of 2012 there have already been five mergers and acquisitions. Some of these have included YKM and Boyner, Silk&Cashmere and East Gate, Şok Markets and Gözde Girişim, and Yargıcı and Global Investment House.