Supermarket Chain Migros is 68 years old
Migros Ticaret A.Ş. is one of the supermarket chains in Turkey. The foundations of Migros were laid in 1954, with the decision taken by the Istanbul Municipality, with the establishment in Turkey of the Migros organization, known in Switzerland as the “King of Cheap” slogan. It was opened by Fahrettin Kerim Gökay, the Governor and Mayor of Istanbul at the time, who also offered arrangement sales to Istanbul residents.
Thus, food and necessities products began to be offered to the public under the control of the municipality. Migros mobile sales trucks, which roam the neighborhoods, also became an indispensable source of entertainment for children to pursue. The Company laid the foundations of modern retail with the first hygienic packaging, labels, and first shelf life applications.
In 1975, its shares were bought by Vehbi Koç, the founder of Koç Group, a brave entrepreneur. With such capital, great steps were taken towards retailing and institutionalization. Now, cheap and high-quality products have started to be provided not only for Istanbulites but also for the whole of Turkey. With the giant central warehouse established in this period and the development of supply methods that transport fresh fruits and vegetables directly from the field to the consumer, it was achieved almost the same status as of today’s professional operation.
Migros İntroduces Turkey to Shopping Technologies
Following Turkey’s adoption of an open economy, Company opened MM and MMM stores at the end of 1990 and started the large retailing practice. In addition, it brought the concept of the first store open until 22.00 on weekends and part-time working to our country. It also implemented the Migroscope application for the first time in the sector. In this way, he gained a great advantage in making his name known.
Introducing computerized, barcoded, and automatic scaled cash registers to Turkish consumers, the company created ŞOK, Turkey’s first discount brand, in 1995. In addition, The Company, which provided the opportunity to shop with credit cards in this period, once again broke new ground.
Migros Abroad
They used the electronic shelf label for the first time in a store that opened in Istanbul in 1996. The Company, which created the concept of Shopping Center in 1997, went on the market under the name Migros Shopping Center Beylikdüzü and abroad as Ramstore Shopping Center Moskov.
The Company, which has stores in many parts of Anatolian Territories, continues its activities abroad. By merging with Tansaş in 2005, it accelerates its growth. Thus, it reaches 722 branches in the country. This partnership, which is a very big step for the Turkish retail sector, allows many different companies to sell under the same ledger today.
Reaching 1191 stores in 2008, Migros Moonlight Perakendecilik ve Ticaret A.Ş. completes its turn. It is ranked 236th in the “Global Powers of Retail” report in 2007. In 2008, it finds itself in 190th place. Ranked 12th in the list of the 50 fastest growing companies in 2002-2007. Thus, it proves to everyone that it is a giant not only in Turkey but also in the world.
Migros also gets its share from the 2008 economic crisis. BİM, the leader of the discount sector, snatched the market leadership from Migros in 2009 when the crisis was felt most severely. The point reached by the company with a turnover of 1.673 million TL in 2005 is 6 billion 573 million TL in 2010. In 2006, BİM’s turnover was only half of Migros’ 4.3 billion lira turnover. BİM went public in 2005 with a market value of 496 million dollars. The market value of the company at that time was one-third of Migros.
Migros JET Stores came into our lives in 2014 to compete with competitors as a new idea on top of these negativities. With this method, it aims to bring together a store as small as a grocery store in every neighborhood, but large in content.
In 2015, some of its shares were purchased by Anadolu Endüstri Holding. In addition, new initiatives are being made to make a difference in the sector. TazeDirekt.com is established in 2016. The purpose of the site is to deliver natural products to the consumer in a fresh and fast manner. Having signed a partnership agreement with the British company Tesco, The Company continues to grow in the sector.
Migros, which reacted quickly to the global epidemic changing our living conditions in 2019, launches the “Migros Hemen” application and does not lag in the sector. Today, it continues to be one of the giants of the sector with over 2300 stores in 81 provinces.
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