BY SELENAY YAGCI
The e-commerce platform Trendyol, which has predisposed tens of thousands of SMEs and tradespeople to exports by including them in international operations, plans to hit an export volume of USD 2bn in 2024 and USD 10bn in 2026 through its sellers.
The e-commerce company, which also operates in Germany, Azerbaijan, and the Gulf countries, aims for 300,000 Trendyol sellers to make exporters with micro exports and has mediated exports of over 51,000 sellers since the beginning of 2022. Of them, 42,000 sellers exported for the first time. Trendyol sellers have sold over 37 million products over the past two years.
“E-commerce accounts for about 1% of total exports in Turkey. The Trade Ministry targets to raise this figure to 10% in 2023. We work to contribute to this goal. We aim to gather 300,000 sellers with overseas markets,” Trendyol Group President Caglayan Cetin said.
Apart from trendyol.com/de, Trendyol brings together Turkish manufacturers with 27 European countries through trendyol.com/eng, which was launched for English-speaking countries. “Moreover, products fully manufactured in Turkey are preferred by users in a wide geography from Azerbaijan to the Gulf countries,” Cetin added. Additionally, Trendyol gathers local manufacturers with customers in different geographies through over 100 global e-commerce platforms. “The Gulf countries, Turkic Republics, and the Balkans have a big potential for Turkish products as their quality is known in these regions. We can also deliver products to customers rapidly thanks to our geographic proximity. We will penetrate the Balkan market after the new year.”
Trendyol kicked off operations in the Gulf countries on September 19. Around 2 million products with the “Made in Türkiye” label were sold in the region in two months, according to Trendyol Group CEO Erdem Inan. The firm has shifted to the Marketplace model in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. “Clothing products for the summer season are sold the most. Summer continues all year long due to climate conditions. Home textiles, children’s and baby products draw considerable attention. Turkey offers good alternatives for these products,” said Inan. In the near term, Trendyol aims to have 10 million different products on its platform in the Gulf countries, where the company enabled over 5,000 of its sellers to sell in October.
TRENDYOL EXPRESS GOES INTERNATIONAL
Trendyol didn’t limit its sellers to Turkey alone in the November campaigns, which is considered a robust period for the e-commerce industry, and has carried the November campaigns abroad. Over 30 million products were sold during the November 7-12 Super Shopping Days. “More than 400,000 of our business partners joined these campaigns. Around 45,000 of them exported in the 6-day campaign period,” Inan said, stressing that over 2.5 million customers shopped on Trendyol in the same period. “Among our sellers, we have witnessed that they exported more than they sold in the domestic market,” Inan noted. The number of Trendyol visits exceeded 350 million in the campaign period. Trendyol was the most downloaded application in Saudi Arabia and UAE. Trendyol plans to enable over 60,000 sellers to sell to the Gulf countries with a single click by the end of November.
Trendyol desires to grow the ecosystems in the markets of operation and expand with the ecosystem. “That’s why we place special emphasis on collaborations with big players in these markets. The collaborations will enable the growth of the e-commerce ecosystem and know-how transfer between the countries,” Inan said, adding that partners, which operate in the payment systems and logistics, should convene and work together to facilitate the processes between the countries.
On the other hand, Trendyol’s logistics subsidiary, Trendyol Express, has kicked off overseas operations. “Our transport business partners under the umbrella of the Trendyol Express made the first delivery in Azerbaijan in mid-November. We aim to launch our Trendyol Express International operation in the Gulf countries with collaborations with regional partners.”
TO INVEST USD 3BN IN THE GULF COUNTRIES
Touching on the investment program to invest USD 5bn in five years announced in 2022, Trendyol Group President Caglayan Cetin said they have spent USD 1bn of that figure. The company plans to invest USD 3bn alone in the Middle East markets. “These investments will mainly focus on marketing, logistics, and technology,” Cetin added. Trendyol’s investment in the e-commerce center near the Istanbul Airport continues for faster customer deliveries. The company aims to set up a logistics network to cover nearby geography with the center. “This operation center will significantly contribute to e-commerce in the long term. We also have an ongoing e-commerce operation center investment in Ankara. It will be among Turkey and Europe’s biggest e-commerce operation and transfer centers.”
TRENDYOL HAS MICRO EXPORTERS IN ALL CITIES
Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir are the top cities with the highest number of micro exporters, followed by Bursa, Antalya, Adana, Konya, and Kayseri, respectively, according to Trendyol Group President Caglayan Cetin. “What makes us happy is that there are Trendyol sellers with micro exports in all 81 provinces,” Cetin said. Touching on the February 6 twin quakes, Cetin added: “We faced the disaster of the century at the very beginning of the year. I wish once again Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives. We previously stated that we would carry our sellers to overseas markets in the quake-hit region. Around 7,000 of 51,000 Trendyol sellers with exports consist of our sellers affected by the February 6 twin quakes. We aim to enable at least 35,000 of our sellers in the 11 quake-hit provinces to export.”
