Alibaba goes Turkish with stake in Trendyol

Alibaba is the new strategic partner of Trendyol, one of the best-known e-commerce companies in Turkey. With this partnership, the Chinese retailgroup strengthens its presence in Europe.

Growing market

The Chinese e-commerce giant will support its Turkish partner in the field of technology, e-commerce, mobile payment, logistics and international contacts. Alibaba will invest financially as well, however no details have been released regarding this investment.

According to Michael Evans, chairman and board member with Alibaba Group, the Turkish market has great potential: it is one of the youngest countries in Europe, with 80 million inhabitants and a strong growth in e-commerce revenue. Demet Mutlu, founder and CEO of Trendyol, is excited as Alibaba always was her role model: “Thanks to this collaboration, Turkish brands and producers have access to hundreds of millions of customers.”

Trendyol was founded in 2010. Today the company has a market share of 3,5% with 16 million users and over 90 million monthly visitors. It is the fastest growing e-commerce player in Turkey. Both the founders and the current management team remain on board.