This marks a new episode in the crisis shaking the “quick-commerce” sector: the Turkish express home delivery platform Getir announced, Monday April 29, its withdrawal from the American, British, German and Dutch markets. The company had already announced its withdrawal from four European countries a year ago (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal).
“Getir announces that it is leaving Europe and the United States, where it generates 7% of its turnover, to focus on Turkey”, “its main market where it sees the greatest potential for long-term sustainable growth ", the group announced on Monday, which announced last year the elimination of nearly 2,500 jobs in the five countries where it still operated. “Sad day for Getir,” reacted its founder Nazim Salur on X.
The Turkish company, which reached a valuation of $12 billion two years ago, employs some 20,000 people worldwide. Getir delivery men, recognizable by their uniforms and their yellow and purple scooters or bicycles, appeared in 2021 in the streets of New York, London, Amsterdam, Paris and even Madrid, with the promise of delivering in ten minutes of everyday consumer products.
Sector hard hit by inflation
A self-proclaimed pioneer of rapid delivery of food products, the Turkish group was deployed in nine countries before withdrawing to Turkey. The fast delivery sector, which has been growing strongly since 2020, has been hit hard by inflation. In several European countries, Getir, Flink, Cajoo, Gopuff, Gorillas and others have also fought a fierce battle in recent years with extremely aggressive promotions, financed by impressive fundraising.
Founded in Istanbul in 2015, Getir has secured significant financial backing from investors such as California-based investment funds Sequoia Capital and Silver Lake as well as UAE-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. The Turkish group said on Monday that it had obtained “new financing from Mubadala and G Squared”, an American venture capital investment company. “Getir will use this financing to strengthen its competitive position in its activities in Turkey,” he says.
Getir, which in 2022 bought the German Gorillas, another major player in the sector, reached its peak during the Covid-19 pandemic, when requests for grocery and meal deliveries exploded.
In France, Flink, one of the last express home delivery companies, announced in mid-April that it was throwing in the towel, following the path of most players in the sector who have abandoned the market due to a tightening of regulations.
