GTrusted

Turkey has been known as the Shenzhen of Europe, producing a large number of consumer electronics like home appliances and TV's both under its own brands as well as for other companies selling into the European market.  To see the local electronics retail scene, if you have a long layover in Istanbul, there are many stores within a short metro ride away. Once you get to the Istanbul airport, Samsung's strong worldwide marketing presence is immediately felt with a Samsung store very visible in the main terminal lobby itself. The target is the Forum Istanbul Mall, Europe's largest shopping mall which is less than half an hour away by metro train which you can get on directly from the Istanbul airport. Buying tickets at the metro ticket kiosks is relatively as long as you have enough Turkish coins. Getting out of Kocatepe, the main train station for the mall, you immediately get impressed by the grand scale of everything. Inside, the mall feels like it goes on forever, and packed with both international and local brands.  Security is tight in the mall, so everyone goes through a security screening when entering.  This is probably a good thing since just that morning, Turkey suffered their deadliest bombing attack in ninety years in Turkey's capital of Ankara.  Despite the regional instability and the tragic events of that day, inside Turkey biggest mall, all that seemed like a world far away with people were going about their normal business shopping. While Media Markt has been losing market share to online retail in their home country of Germany, they have expanded well in other countries like Turkey which still has a vibrant traditional bricks and mortar retail environment. It's telling in markets like Turkey, what are the hot seller items.  Prominently displayed in the front windows at Media Markt were washing machines, refrigerators, and other home appliances. Like in other retail shops around the world, different brands have claimed their mini-retail space within Media Markt like Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips. Like everywhere else, 4K and smart TV's were everywhere despite the lack of available 4K content. In Media Markt and other stores, the Samsung Gear VR virtual reality goggles was prominently promoted with the ubiquitous Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge phones, although I never saw anyone trying it out. Wearables is still not as popular in Turkey where Media Markt only have a small display dedicated to all the wearable brands. Looking for Google Chromecast or Fire TV Sticks?   Here the options are even more dismal.   The only standalone smart TV gadget available was a heavily discounted Android TV box from Everest, a Chinese company. There was such a lack of similar smart TV accessory products in the market that Media Markt had a hard time figuring out where to display the Everest product.  It sadly wound up in the storage drive section. There are a few local brands for notebooks, tablets, and smartphones like Casper, Exper, Polypad, and Hometech. These local brands price very aggressively and go after the entry level user.  Note all prices here are in Turkish Lira. Traditionally dominant in home appliance and TV markets, Vestel has been successful example of a Turkish company being successful producing in Turkey and selling all over Europe for Vestel and other foreign brands like Sharp, Toshiba, Philips, etc. Not only did they Vestel have a nice display inside Media Markt, they also had their own store which showcased their whole line up of products including new lines such as tablets and smartphones. Another Turkey based company that had been successful in home appliances and TV's is Arcelik.  Arcelik also had their own store which had a better display arrangement and sales people promoting their new 4K and smart TV's compared to Vestel's store. In the US, brick and mortar electronics retail stores sometimes feel like a dying breed, but here in Turkey, the retail scene is vibrant with a variety of stores.  Teknosa has a store that rivals Media Markt in size and selection. Here at Teknosa, the Samsung Gear VR (powered by Facebook's Oculus) was again on full display. Teknosa also offered their own Preo branded phone and fitness tracker and in general I was impressed by the general low cost of phones and tablets available to the everyday consumer in Turkey. But wait, there's more!  Bimek's is also here at the Forum Istanbul Mall. Vatan Computer is also here.  Just how many electronics are there here at this mall? Another electronics store, Gold, is also here.  Despite all the different stores in the mall, the one common thread is the continuous prominent advertising done on Samsung products.  From the airport all the way through each store, there is no escaping the pull of Samsung's marketing tractor beam. After walking the mall for what seemed like ages, I eschewed all the fast food options in the food court. Instead I stopped at Cizbiz Kofte, a Turkish coffee shop with a lot of good local food options. Turkish coffee can be amazingly strong with what feels like mud on the bottom, but goes well with the equally strongly sweet deserts like the Turkish version of Kanafeh. Stepping into Turkey felt like the time of my youth when many computers and electronics were made in the US and there was an abundance of retail stores to choose from.  Consolidation will probably some day happen in Turkey like in everywhere else, but until then, the vibrant electronics scene in Turkey is a welcome breath of fresh air.