Turkey’s leading e-commerce platform, Trendyol, has signed a contract with PASHA Holding, which has close ties to Azerbaijan’s ruling government, sparking concern among local transportation companies.
The platform’s move to provide direct home delivery service has only boosted fears among these smaller companies.
Owners of several transport firms, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed their apprehension to Meydan TV. One businessman revealed that his company had rented an office and warehouse in Istanbul and signed a three-year contract. The company also has a warehouse, office, and employees in Azerbaijan. However, 95 percent of their customers order goods from Turkey, primarily through Trendyol. The businessman stated that they do not know how their situation will be in the near future.
Smaller shipping companies claim that most of them have been forced out of the market, and they had previously accepted orders from social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, but now, products are ordered only from American or Chinese websites. They fear that this field will be monopolized, and small companies like theirs will go bankrupt as the number of companies decreases. The number of these orders does not exceed 50 parcels in a month.
The number of cargo companies in Azerbaijan has grown to 200 over the last two to three years. However, many of these companies are now struggling to compete with larger firms such as Trendyol.
Parviz Azimov, head of Starex’s Business Development Department, which is currently the only official transportation partner of Trendyol, denied claims of unfair competition. He explained that Trendyol is a global company with specific conditions and rules when choosing a transportation partner. Starex met these conditions, which is why they were chosen as a transportation partner.
Azimov also noted that the pricing issue for delivery varies depending on the weight, volume, and quantity of the product. Currently, Trendyol offers a single transportation tariff for goods purchased from one brand, regardless of weight and volume, for 59.99 TRY (5.22 AZN / 2.80 EUR). However, cargo companies offer different prices for different weight ranges.
While Trendyol has not made available all its products on the website for direct delivery to Azerbaijan, there is no special price for Azerbaijan. Products are sold at the same price as in Turkey. Azimov stated that if other companies meet their standards in the future, they will most likely become partners with Trendyol. “There is no special condition that Starex will be the sole partner for life.”
Trendyol is Turkey’s leading e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of products, including clothing, accessories, electronics, and household items, among others, to customers across Turkey and beyond, while PASHA Holding is a large Azerbaijani conglomerate with diversified business interests, including banking, insurance, construction, real estate, tourism, and agriculture, among others. It is owned by a family linked to the Aliyevs.
