City dwellers who suddenly have a craving for vanilla ice cream or bananas can no longer rely on the super-fast shopping service of Getir – Turkish for ‘bring it’. The company is withdrawing from all six Dutch cities where it was active. It is also disappearing from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. With Getir’s departure, subsidiary Gorillas will also disappear from Europe.
Things had been going wrong at Nazim Salur’s company for a long time. In August last year, Getir announced it would cut 2,500 jobs, about 10 percent of its total workforce. Due to the limited number of orders, the company previously withdrew from several Dutch cities. The flash delivery company was still active in Amsterdam, Amstelveen, The Hague, Haarlem, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
About the author
Marieke de Ruiter is economics editor for de Volkskrant. She writes about the labor market and social security, among other things.
Now that Getir is leaving, only Flink remains as a flash delivery service in the Netherlands. Previously, the British Zapp left the field and Gorillas was taken over by Getir.
Ripe avocado
The departure of flash delivery services is indicative of the changing economic climate. During the pandemic, these delivery services – backed by venture capital – sprang up like mushrooms. That changed as a result of inflation, which led to consumers cutting corners and going back to the supermarket for a ripe avocado.
At the same time, flash delivery services faced social opposition: municipalities restricted flash delivery in city centers. For example, Amsterdam came up with a special zoning plan for flash delivery services, which forced companies to move to locations outside residential areas.
Getir says that its employees will be informed on Monday about the departure from the Netherlands. In a statement, the company thanks all employees for ‘their commitment and contribution to the growth of the company’.
Tags: Flash delivery service Getir permanently leaving Netherlands focusing home market Turkey
