Gold, a place frequented by Turkish technology enthusiasts, Since its founding in 1991; It offered many products to its customers, such as computers, electronics, phones, watches and gaming consoles, at affordable prices. In 2014, Gold became Turkey’s largest technology retailer, with 59 stores and almost 1,000 employees.

However, in the following years economic crisis, competition and debt crisis, It meant the end of Gold. How did this sinking story begin? Let’s explore together the creation and disappearance of gold.

Gold was founded in 1991 in collaboration with brothers Ömer Dinç and Önder Dinç.

The first store was opened in Bahçelievler, Istanbul. gold, To meet Turkey’s technological needs It imports the products of foreign companies, produces domestically through licensing agreements and is an online shopping site. Swiftal.com founded and entered various industries with its various subsidiaries.

gold, In the 2000s It has become the choice of the young generation interested in technology. In the following periods, it became Turkey’s largest technology retailer with a turnover of TL 1.5 billion.

But what happened in Turkey in 2015 economic crisis, It began to experience difficult times due to reasons such as the rise in exchange rates, declining consumer confidence, intensifying competition in the technology sector and the widespread use of Internet shopping.

So how did these reasons affect gold?

• Increase in exchange rates: The increase in exchange rates increased the cost of Gold and reduced the profit margin. Gold could not reflect this cost increase in its prices because other technology retailers it competed with could offer cheaper prices through domestic manufacturing or licensing agreements.
• Declining consumer confidence: The economic crisis reduced the income and purchasing power of consumers. Consumers became more frugal and selective when shopping for technology. The gold supply did not meet consumer needs and expectations. Consumers began to prefer better quality, reliable, serviced, guaranteed and branded products.
• Intensifying competition in the technology sector: Gold has faced many competitors in the technology sector. These competitors include major technology retailers such as Teknosa, MediaMarkt, Vatan Bilgisayar; Online shopping sites such as Hepsiburada.com, n11.com, Gitgidiyor.com; There were global technology brands such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei.

Unable to cover its costs, Gold began closing its stores, laying off its employees, and defaulting on its debts to its suppliers and banks.

In 2016, Gold announced that he had a debt of TL 390 million and requested a bankruptcy moratorium. However, this request was rejected and Gold It officially went bankrupt in 2019. Gold’s website gold.com.tr was also closed. “We’ll be here again soon” left the message. However, it does not seem possible for this message to become reality.

Gold’s bankruptcy created a gap in technology retail in Turkey. Many new and old technology companies have done their best to fill this gap. We hear some of these often these days. such as Teknosa, MediaMarkt and Vatan Bilgisayar Technology stores in almost every province.

Gold, which made its mark in a period in the Turkish technology sector, unfortunately became a brand that ultimately went bankrupt. In this context, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Gold’s story holds important lessons for entrepreneurs in many ways.

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