Getir to leave Europe and US?

Is quick commerce company Getir considering to leave all foreign markets to focus solely on Turkey? This would mean an exit from the American, British, Dutch and German markets – despite recent investments.

Huge losses

Despite persistent rumours that Turkish flash delivery company wants to take over competitor Flink, the company is now reportedly considering throwing in the towel abroad. According to WirtschaftsWoche, one of the strategic options the delivery service is studying is a withdrawal from Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Its international operations are reportedly losing fifty million euros every month, while contributing only 4 % to the company’s total turnover. Shareholders have therefore met to discuss the future: apart from discontinuing the foreign divisions, a partial or total sale was also considered. Another possibility was a new round of financing, but attracting new investors for a company that is unlikely to become profitable in the current economic situation seems challenging.

Ever smaller

Speculation about local discontinuations has been going on for some time. A Telegram group of German Getir couriers already raised questions about whether Getir Germany would close and whether employees had been informed about this in late March. Moreover, Getir itself suggested that it was considering withdrawing from the German market during a court case at the labour court in Berlin in early April.

In the Netherlands, the flash delivery company already went through a major restructuring last year, but it had so far maintained that it would stay in the country. In the US, Getir even acquired FreshDirect from Ahold Delhaize late last year, while the group only acquired German rival Gorillas in late 2022. However, the flash delivery market is struggling with major challenges, including changing consumer patterns after the pandemic, economic pressures and an ever smaller interest of venture capital funds.