Başaran, speaking to the Anatolia news agency, stated that according to the complaints his association received between the years of 2007 and 2009 the organized retail sector has the highest level of customer satisfaction. He attributed this to the general cleanliness and after-sale services of large stores and chains, along with attractive discounts and payment schemes offered by these stores. “For these reasons customers opt to patronize shopping malls. It’s simply not right to legislate the exact opposite of what customers want,” he said, adding that it was unfair to call the organized retail sector an enemy of groceries, referring to recent debates over large stores such as hypermarkets and supermarkets posing a direct threat to existence of small groceries. “They can both coexist,” he argued.
A bill on shopping malls, large stores and chain stores has drawn harsh criticism from many for prohibiting shopping malls from opening on Sundays, while being welcomed by small retail stores, which face difficulties in competing with large shopping malls. If the draft becomes law, Başaran argued, it will negatively affect employment in malls as well as eliminate a place where people gather and socialize.
