Gönder

What did it do?

Gönder was a Turkish online shopping platform launched in 2017 within HML Lojistik by Taner Karamollaoğlu, former general manager of the discount supermarket chain BİM. Users shopped online or through the app from participating local businesses such as neighbourhood grocers, delicatessens and butchers, and either collected their orders from pick-up points or had them delivered to their homes for a small fee. In 2021 the model shifted its focus to online grocery orders and expanded to 22 provinces.

Why did it shut down?

The reason for Gönder's closure was never made public. According to an İş'te Gündem report from October 2022, things did not go as hoped and the platform suspended its operations. Gönder entered the online grocery market, which had grown with the pandemic, across a wide area at a time when well-capitalised rivals such as Getir, İstegelsin and Hepsiexpress were expanding rapidly. Launching in 22 provinces at once meant building a network of shopkeepers, a courier network and demand all at the same time. It can be said, as an interpretation, that sufficient order density did not develop under these conditions.

The story

Taner Karamollaoğlu was one of the best-known names in Turkish retail. He had worked at Unilever for 22 years, served as general manager of BİM and sat on the board of Yıldız Holding. According to İş'te Gündem, he had played a part in founding BİM and Bizim Toplu Tüketim, and in 2012 he founded Teda Global, which brought corner shops together under one roof. His last big move was Gönder.

According to a Webrazzi report from August 2017, Gönder, the new venture of HML Lojistik, launched in the Istanbul districts of Üsküdar, Ümraniye, Kadıköy and Ataşehir. Users shopped with a single basket from participating local businesses such as grocers, delicatessens, butchers and stationers, and either collected their orders from pick-up points called Dur-Al or had them delivered to their homes for a fee of 1 to 2 TL. Products were sold at shop prices, and the start-up described itself as a kind of Amazon for physical shops.

During the pandemic Gönder made a bigger move. According to a Milli Gazete report from June 2021, the platform began offering an online grocery service across 84 districts and 2,147 neighbourhoods in 22 provinces, with a reach of around 40 million people. Working with 16 product categories, flexibly employed couriers and 30 regional managers, the company aimed to cover the whole of Turkey by the end of the year. Ekonomist wrote that Karamollaoğlu, still an entrepreneur at 72, planned to add food ordering and shopping-centre services as well.

The online grocery market, however, was by now very crowded. Well-capitalised players such as Getir, İstegelsin and Hepsiexpress were growing fast. On 7 October 2022 İş'te Gündem reported that things had not gone as hoped at Gönder and that the platform had suspended its operations. There is no closure statement from the company, nor any report of it restarting.

Gönder's story shows that even one of the people who knew retail best could struggle in the digital fast-delivery race. The idea of bringing local shopkeepers online was strong, but creating order density across a wide area and competing with rivals' financial firepower was a different test.

Lessons for founders

• Industry experience is valuable, but changing user habits in a digital market is a different job.
• Opening in many cities at once multiplies costs before order density builds up; go deep in one region first.
• When entering a market with well-capitalised rivals, build clear differentiation and a resilient funding plan.

Sources

1. Taner Karamollaoğlu's latest venture has failed! Don't wait for Gönder (İş'te Gündem, 2022-10-07)
2. An ambitious venture from former BİM general manager Taner Karamollaoğlu: Gönder (Webrazzi, 2017-08-14)
3. Turkey's online grocer GÖNDER launches in 22 provinces (Milli Gazete, 2021-06-28)
4. He became an entrepreneur at 72 (Ekonomist, 2021-07-11)

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