 |
David and Goliath: Corner stores take aim at supermarkets
“The prime minister’s call for grocery store owners to create larger enterprises with the aim of competing with supermarkets and shopping malls is actually an indicator of the threat that stems from the unfair conditions small businesses must operate under,” Turkish Tradesmen’s and Artisans’ Confederation (TESK) President Bendevi Palandöken told Sunday’s Zaman, drawing attention to the effectiveness of lobbyists working for shopping malls and representatives of “big business” surrounding the prime minister. “We have been fighting an uphill battle for 13 years to help grocery stores remain open. What our union wants is for Turkey to take European legislation that protects small business owners as a model to change the relevant laws in Turkey,” Palandöken said.
In a clear objection to Erdoğan’s call, Palandöken emphasized that there is a lack of a “culture of collective action” in Turkish society. “I see it as impossible for two grocery stores to enter a partnership in order to resist supermarkets,” he said. Looking at disadvantages faced by grocery stores when compared with supermarkets, Palandöken said supermarkets and shopping malls have pursued a smarter marketing strategy and are therefore “able to convince people they sell the same products at lower prices, which is not true.”
The TESK chairman called for clear legislation that would support grocery stores and small business owners alike with the aim of providing the conditions of fair market competition. “Instead of grocery stores receiving large tax incentives, the government gives them to supermarkets and shopping malls,” he complained.
Social role of grocery stores
Palandöken also attached critical importance to the social role of grocery stores in terms of strengthening solidarity between residents of the neighborhood they serve. Giving examples about the social role of grocery stores, he said corner stores allow customers to buy now and pay later, an option not available at supermarkets. “Supermarkets are profit oriented, so they do not offer the social setting grocery stores do. People can shop at supermarkets with credit cards, but they cannot delay the payment of their credit card debt. This isn’t the case with grocery stores, which cannot pressure their customers to pay up simply because of the fact that they are neighbors,” he said. Palandöken also highlighted other functions of grocery stores, saying: “They do not have clear-cut opening hours. You can find milk for your baby at midnight in a grocery store, and I believe that if someone called a grocery store owner who was asleep to open his store for an urgent necessity, the owner would no doubt come to the rescue.”
Agreeing with Palandöken on the large social responsibilities the grocery stores have, İstanbul Grocery Store Chamber President İsmail Keskin said it is impossible for the era of corner stores to end, as the prime minister predicted. “We are everywhere. You will find us in both big cities but also in villages and towns with very low populations,” he said.
Keskin also complained about the absence of necessary legislation regarding offering incentives to grocery stores and said that tax inspectors find it very hard to carry out inspections at supermarkets. “The opposite is the case when it comes to corner stores,” he added. When asked the reason for this, Keskin said grocery stores are legally considered to be personal enterprises. Supermarkets are generally considered companies. “The law differs on many points between companies and personal enterprises,” he said.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ARZU KAYA URANLI |  |
||
| On Memorial Day a few words to make your day memorable | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| CUMALİ ÖNAL |  |
||
| Critical months for Egypt | |||
| DOĞU ERGİL |  |
||
| Qualities of power | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| JOOST LAGENDIJK |  |
||
| Europe can’t have it all. Or can it? | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| MELİH ARAT |  |
||
| Handmade | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
