What Happened to Technology Store “Gold” and It Disappeared?

Gold, a place frequented by Turkey’s technology enthusiasts, Since its establishment in 1991; It offered many products such as computers, electronics, phones, watches and game consoles to its customers at affordable prices. In 2014, Gold became Turkey’s largest technology retailer, reaching 59 stores and nearly 1000 employees.

However, in the following years economic crisis, competition and debt crisis, It brought about the end of Gold. So how did this sinking story begin? Let’s examine the founding and disappearance of Gold together.

Gold was founded in 1991 with the partnership of brothers Ömer Dinç and Önder Dinç.

Its first store was opened in Bahçelievler, Istanbul. gold, To meet Turkey’s technology needs It imports the products of foreign companies, produces domestically through license agreements, and is an online shopping site. swiftal.com was establishing and entering different sectors 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 1.5 billion TL.

However, what happened in Turkey in 2015 economic crisis, It started to experience difficult times due to reasons such as the increase in foreign exchange rates, the decrease in consumer confidence, the intensification of competition in the technology sector, and the widespread use of internet shopping.

So how did these reasons affect Gold so much?

• Increase in exchange rates: The increase in exchange rates increased Gold’s costs and reduced its profit margin. Gold could not reflect this cost increase on its prices because other technology retailers it competed with could offer more affordable prices through domestic production or licensing agreements.
• Decreasing consumer confidence: The economic crisis reduced consumers’ income and purchasing power. Consumers began to be more frugal and selective when shopping for technology. Gold’s offerings fell short of meeting consumers’ 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 large 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.

Since Gold could not cover the costs, it began to close its stores, lay off its employees, and fail to pay its debts to its suppliers and banks.

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

Gold’s bankruptcy created a gap in the technology retail industry in Turkey. Many new and old technology companies have stepped up to fill this gap. Some of these are the ones we hear frequently today. such as Teknosa, MediaMarkt and Vatan Bilgisayar Technology stores located in almost every province.

Gold, which left its mark on a period in Turkey’s technology sector, unfortunately became a brand that eventually went bankrupt. In this context, it would not be wrong to say that Gold’s story contains important lessons for entrepreneurs in many respects.

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