Migros Ticaret A.Ş. is one of the biggest chains of
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
s in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Together via Migros supermarkets, Macrocenter Stores, international Ramstore shopping centers, online and mobile shopping, wholesale stores, and mobile sales units, Migros Turkey serves an estimated 160 million customers. As of Nov 2014, the company operates a total of 1,156 stores: 852 Migros stores, 212 Tansaş stores, 24 5M stores and 27 Macro Centers stores in Turkey, 41 Ramstores in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, according to its web site.
News reports in February 2008 indicated that
BC Partners has agreed to buy Migros Türk in Turkey's biggest-ever
leveraged buyout. The London-based firm will trade Koc Holding 1.98 billion TL for a 51 percent stake in Migros Türk. Later BC increased its stake to 98 per cent. In 2011, the group sold approximately 20% back to public market investors. BC Partners revealed in January 2015 that it would sell its 40.25 percent stake in its supermarket chain Migros to the Turkish conglomerate
Anadolu Group Anadolu (from Ancient Greek , 'east') is the Turkish form of Anatolia, which refers to a region of the world that is now part of the nation of Turkey, also known as Asia Minor (Medieval and Modern Greek).
Anadolu may also refer to:
Education ...
for around $2.74 billion.
The Migros logo
The logo of Migros Turkey is similar to an older version of the
Swiss Migros logo but uses a
dotted ''i'', as the
dotless ''I'' represents a different letter in the
Turkish alphabet
The Turkish alphabet ( tr, ) is a Latin-script alphabet used for writing the Turkish language, consisting of 29 letters, seven of which (Ç, Ğ, Dotless I, I, İ, Ö, Ş and Ü) have been modified from their Latin originals for the phonetic requ ...
with
phonetic value , a
close back unrounded vowel. As in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the supermarkets are categorized in three size classes of M, MM and MMM but with another size 5M:
* M Migros supermarkets are selling basic groceries and a limited number of non-food products
* MM Migros stores offer a wider range of non-food articles besides the basic groceries
* MMM Migros stores have a larger product spectrum ranging from stationery to textile products, electric household appliances to bakeries, books and cosmetics
* Additionally there is a fourth class, the 5M Migros have the widest product selection and are found mostly in the
Anatolian Tigers or tourist areas of the
southwest coast, as well as in Ankara.
* Additionally there is a fifth class, the Migros jet, mini-markets in boroughs, formed by acquisition of
Tansaş resembling its Mini Tansaş line.
Migros sells some products under its own label.
History
The Mayor of
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
Fahrettin Kerim Gökay
Fahrettin Kerim Gökay (January 9, 1900 Eskişehir – July 22, 1987 Istanbul) was a Turkish politician, civil servant, professor ordinarius and physician. He served as government minister, and is well known for his long-term position as governo ...
, together with the Foreign Minister approached the founder of the Swiss Migros,
Gottlieb Duttweiler in 1953, in order to organize a sustainable food supply to the major population centers of Turkey.
Migros Turkey was established in 1954 as a joint venture with Swiss
Migros Cooperatives Union. Duttweiler and
Charles Henri Hochstrasser
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, the first head of Migros Türk also held considerable percentages.
Initially, Migros Turkey operated via sales trucks (like its Swiss counterpart) only later to open stores fronts – the first in 1957 at the fish-market in
Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
,
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
.
In 1975, the
Koç Group took control of the company
by acquiring a majority of its shares. Thereafter, Migros rapidly increased the number of stores in Istanbul, establishing the necessary infrastructure for purchasing fruits and vegetables directly from producers and farmers.
In 1981, a central perishables' warehouse was opened. It is still in use, with some alterations and improvements.
In 1988, following development in Istanbul, 4 large stores were opened in
İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
, and infrastructure investment were started in the
Aegean region.
In addition to neighborhood stores in Istanbul and İzmir, larger stores were opened in new residential and suburban areas – an MM market in İzmir, followed by two MMM stores in Istanbul, in 1991.
Since late 1990, almost all of the older stores have been renovated, equipped with fully automated systems, introducing computerized and automatic cash registers.
In 1991, Migros became a publicly traded company.
Around this time, Migros extended its chain of supermarkets to other large cities, such as
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
,
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
and
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
, and the resorts destinations of
Marmaris,
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...
,
Silivri
Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside the urban core of Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The ...
and
Yalova.
In 1992, payment with credit card and customer satisfaction questionnaires were introduced.
On its 40th anniversary, the company expanded in Ankara with two more stores and in
Adana
Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart ...
and
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
. In 1994, Migros was named "the most successful company in Turkey" and was also shown as one of the most successful companies in Europe by the ''
Euromoney
''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc.
History and profile
''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...
'' magazine. 1995 brought a rapid growth to Migros with the opening of stores in 17 provinces, including Southeastern Anatolia and Adana,
Gaziantep
Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...
,
Edirne,
Tekirdağ and
Eskişehir.
In 1995, Migros introduced a low-cost brand outlet named Şok. Started in Istanbul, the discount markets expanded to Ankara and İzmir. Şoks offer both food and non-food items.
Rapid growth
In 1996, Migros Turkey introduced nearly a new store every week, establishing 51 new stores. A supermarket was opened in
Erzurum, and by the end of the year, 75 million people were being served by 124 stores in 20 cities and six regions of Turkey.
In 1997, it increased the number of stores in Turkey to 169, serving 125 million customers. As in previous years, it opened 50 new stores and shopping centers in 1998 and expanded its service to 27 cities in total. Throughout 1999, its growth rate reached two stores per week on average, adding 108 new stores and two shopping centers.
In 1996, Migros opened its first store outside of Turkey – a Ramstore in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
– followed up the next year with a shopping center in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. With the success of the first Ramstore in Baku, four new stores were opened in Azerbaijan.
Migros opened a second, larger, Ramstore shopping center in Moscow's Maryina Roscha district. In 1998, a new Ramstore shopping center's foundation was laid in Kazakhstan.
At that time, there are three Ramstores in Baku, 8 Ramstore shopping centers in Moscow, 41 Ramstores in other cities of Russia, one Ramstore shopping center in Kazakhstan, 1 Ramstore in
Astana, 4 in Almaty, 1 Ramstore shopping center and hypermarket in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
, North Macedonia, totalling over 50 Ramstores internationally.
"Self-service checkouts" were introduced to Turkish consumers in the giant store in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
for the first time in Turkey and in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
By the end of 1999, the number of Migros Club Cards had reached 2.5 million.
Also in 1999, Migros Turkey launched its online presence,
Kangurum, hosting more than 25,000 products from 60 different stores, ranging from refrigerators, wedding rings, toys, bouquet arrangements, and tomatoes to vacation reservations.
Migros presented the
Bakkalım (literally: My Grocery) store format in the first quarter of 2000, spreading in Istanbul, İzmir and Ankara; they number 700, today.
Throughout 2001, Migros Online added
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
and
Adana
Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart ...
to its service area. In 2001, Kangurum introduced wholesale market service, with
B2B providing corporate transactions.
Within the course of 2001, Migros Türk introduced three Migros stores in MMM format, 5 Migros stores in MM format and 3 Migros stores in M format, as well as 19 Şok discount stores, one Ramstore Shopping Center and 2 Ramstores in Moscow, 1 Ramstore in Sofia, and 1 Migros Shopping Center in Antalya. By the end of 2001, Migros was operating 461 stores, serving 160 million customers annually.
Throughout 2002, Migros made 41 new investments – 1 MMM, 5 MM, 4 M and a total 23 Şok stores in Turkey, 6 new stores in Russia, 1 in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and 1 in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
. With the addition of these new investments, Migros reached 425 points of sale at the end of year 2002, consisting of 65 M stores, 58 MM stores, 30 MMM stores and 3 shopping centers and hypermarkets. 3 Ramstores in Baku, 15 Ramstores in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, 3 Ramstores in Kazakhstan, 2 Ramstores in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
.
The Ramstore in Baku, destroyed after a fire in 2001, was replaced. Within 6 months, Ramstore
Hatai opened its doors again – with an investment of $4.5 million.
In 2003, Migros opened its first retail store with direct access to subway in
Metrocity, a shopping mall in the Levent district of Istanbul.
There are currently approximately 7 million customers holding Migros Club Cards.
In 2006, а Ramstore was opened in
Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
through a Kazakh subsidiary.
It is reported that Migros Turk's market share was 8.6 percent at the end of 2006, compared with 5.3 percent for its second-place competitor.
[
Ramstores in ]Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
were closed down in 2007.
In September 2007, Migros sold its 50% interest in Ramenka, which operated 53 Ramstores in Russia and other Eastern European countries, for US$542.5m to its venture partner: Enka Holdings (Enka Insaat Sanayi AS). In 2006, that operation accounted for about a fifth of Migros's revenue of US$3.3 billion.
In February 2008, BC Partners Ltd. agreed to acquire Migros Türk TAS, Turkey's largest supermarket chain, for about US$3.2 billion in the country's biggest-ever leveraged buyout, gaining 961 stores in Turkey and nearby countries through the acquisition. In 2009 Migros Türk issued an Initial Public Offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
(IPO) at the Istanbul stock exchange
The Borsa İstanbul (abbreviated as BIST) is the sole exchange entity of Turkey combining the former Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) ( tr, İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası, IMKB), the Istanbul Gold Exchange ( tr, İstanbul Altın Borsası, İA ...
.
In 2011 the company sold its stores in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, contracting its international footprint to just two countries outside of Turkey.
As of 2019, Migros Ticaret A.Ş. has 2008 Migros stores in 81 provinces of Turkey, 51 Macrocenter stores in 6 provinces, 44 Ramstore
Migros Ticaret A.Ş. is one of the biggest chains of supermarkets in Turkey.
Together via Migros supermarkets, Macrocenter Stores, international Ramstore shopping centers, online and mobile shopping, wholesale stores, and mobile sales units, ...
stores in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.
Controversies
Controversy over animal abuse
Migros is being called out by customers for selling eggs that are sourced from caged and abused hens and refusing to publish a cage-free commitment. The petition asking Migros to abandon cage eggs collected over 130.000 signatures.
See also
*Migros
Migros () is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a cooperative federation (the Federation of Mig ...
*Ramstore
Migros Ticaret A.Ş. is one of the biggest chains of supermarkets in Turkey.
Together via Migros supermarkets, Macrocenter Stores, international Ramstore shopping centers, online and mobile shopping, wholesale stores, and mobile sales units, ...
References
External links
Migros Ticaret
Money Club in Turkish
Ramstore Macedonia
Ramstore Kazakhstan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Migros Turk
Retail companies established in 1954
Supermarkets of Turkey
Companies based in Istanbul
Companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange
1954 establishments in Turkey