Turkish e-commerce giant to enter Czech market this quarter

Turkish fashion giant Trendyol – owned by Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group – plans to enter the Czech e-commerce market in the first quarter of 2024.  

Chief executive of Trendyol Group Erdem Inan said at a recent conference in Azerbaijan that the company wants to “exceed 4 million orders” and reach about 2 million customers by the end of this year in the Eastern Europe region. It also plans expansion into Slovakia, Poland, and Bulgaria in the coming months.

Trendyol, founded in 2010, has already indirectly tested the Czech market through sales on e-shops Zoot, Zalando, and About You. On the current English-language version of the site, customers can already have goods delivered to Czechia.

Valued at USD 16.5 billion (CZK 371.5 billion) in its latest funding round, is known for its fast-fashion offerings and has seen a 47-percent increase in sales year on year. With major investments from companies like General Atlantic and SoftBank, Trendyol is Turkey's first unicorn company.

Containing over 300,000 sellers and 200 million products on its platform, Trendyol also offers its own brand of clothing. "It's classic fast fashion – cheap and affordable trends. It's not very good for the planet, but the customer has to decide for himself," Milan Polák, former head of Zoot, told Czech news site Hospodářské noviny.

However, Trendyol’s entry into the Czech market may face challenges. According to director of the Association for Electronic Commerce Jan Vetyška, the Czech market is already saturated with online stores, making it difficult for new players to break in. 

"In general, I am skeptical about the arrival of foreign players, because the Czechs are quite conservative as customers. It is difficult to take over a customer where they are already experienced, and brand loyalty is very strong in the fashion industry," says Vetyška.

Last year also saw commerce giants Allegro and Kaufland launch e-shops in Czechia, further saturating the market.

Trendyol will need to navigate the competitive Czech market and establish a strong connection with local customers in order to succeed. With questions about exactly how it will achieve this, it remains to be seen whether Trendyol will be able to make its mark in the Czech e-commerce world.