UK (Commonwealth) _ Getir, a grocery delivery company, has announced that it is quitting the US, the UK, and Europe to concentrate on its primary market of Turkey, where the majority of its income is generated.
It follows several months of conjecture that its businesses in the UK were having financial difficulties. According to the company, just 7% of its total income came from the markets it is currently exiting. It ends the company’s explosive growth throughout Europe, which over the course of three years produced about 23,000 employment.
Getir went on to say that it believes Turkey, its native market, has the greatest potential for long-term growth. In just a few years after its 2021 launch into the UK, Getir has expanded to become a multibillion pound food delivery company.
The firm, like many delivery services, flourished when Covid lockdowns affected people’s purchasing patterns and many avoided in-person shopping. It has a striking purple and yellow logo. Being “ultra-fast”—delivering food and drink on scooters in less than 20 minutes—was its distinctive selling proposition.
Getir affirmed that its US affiliate, FreshDirect, will carry on with business as usual. It further stated that in order to finance its withdrawal from the Western market, it has raised money from US corporation G Squared and Abu Dhabi investment group Mubadala.
In a brief statement, the company said that Getir sincerely appreciates the commitment and diligence of all of its workers in the US, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.
As Getir marked its first anniversary in the UK in 2022, it referred to the year as a “blockbuster” and positioned itself as a “market leader” with 4,000 permanent positions generated in Birmingham, Portsmouth, Manchester, and London. Additionally, it promised to generate 10,000 employment by the end of 2022 at that time.
However, by 2023, the company had to back off from its explosive growth throughout Europe, saying that it was laying off more than ten percent of its workforce, which at the time consisted of 23,000 employees in Europe.
These layoffs followed the company’s exit from Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal, the auctioning off of a large portion of its equipment in the UK, and the impact of customers going back to traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Regulation changes were a contributing factor to its issues. Stock-holding inner-city depots in France were ordered to shut, while the building of new ones was outlawed in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The structures were referred to as “dark stores” and were allegedly noisy all the time, with couriers arriving and departing at all hours, according to the neighbors.
Meanwhile, Gale Brewer of the city council in New York said that Getir, Flink, and Gorillas—three ultra-fast delivery apps—were “misusing” vacant city center shop spaces. The pandemic-era app Getir, which provides quick grocery delivery, has announced that it is laying off more than 10% of its staff.
According to the Turkish company, which employs 23,000 people in countries including Germany and the UK, the 2,500 layoffs will increase “operational efficiency”. It comes after increased supermarket rivalry and regulatory crackdowns in several nations. In the past several months, the company has left Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France.
Getir charges a premium above supermarket rates and delivers food in cities in as little as 10 minutes from so-called “dark stores”—city center depositories. Additionally, there have been accusations that it is scrambling to raise money amid speculation that its UK business may fail—claims that those close to the company have apparently refuted. After shutting many dark storefronts, the corporation held an auction last month in the UK, selling items ranging from food delivery boxes to scooters. The company said that selling surplus goods was “normal” at the time.
Employing pickers, office workers, and couriers, Getir announced that company had “regrettably” and “with a heavy heart” made the most recent layoffs. Uncertainty surrounds whether employees in the UK, one of its largest markets, may be impacted. The company also has operations in Turkey, the US, Germany, and the Netherlands.
It prospered during the Covid lockdowns, but customers going back to stores has hurt it, and nations have expressed worries about competition. The company and its French affiliate Gorillas laid off 1,300 workers in July after authorities classed dark shops as warehouses. Its German competitor Flink also withdrew from the operations as well.
