Naspers shuts online retailer

Turkish e-commerce and fashion company Markafoni, owned by Naspers, will shut down at the end of the month, the company announced yesterday.

It said all its operations would continue under current regulations and rules until June 30, but gave no reason for the closure.

Turkish media reports said Markafoni, one of Turkey’s largest online retailers, was not making a profit. The company was not immediately available for comment.

“We are sadly concluding activities on our website as of June 30, 2017. We thank all of you for the support and trust you have shown us since we were established in 2008,” the company said.

Naspers, made powerful by its 33% stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent, bought Markafoni from its founder in 2014 as Turkey’s small, yet growing, e-commerce market drew international investors.

Although Turkey’s growing e-commerce market has been fuelled by a young, tech-savvy population, it stood at 24.7 billion lira ($6.99 billion) in 2015, accounting for only 2% of total retail revenue, according to the Turkish Informatics Industry Association.

Global investor enthusiasm for Turkey has cooled in recent years due to rising security and political concerns but its demographics and growth potential remain the envy of Europe. –