The Success Story of ŞOK Marketler
Our rate of female employees has been increasing over the years.
In line with its goal to offer more opportunities for women in business life, ŞOK Marketler raised the rate of female employees in its workforce from 51% to 54%.
1995
Started operations with 13 stores.
2011
ŞOK Marketler joined Yıldız Holding, with 1,255 stores and 7 warehouses.
2013
Acquired Dia S.A., a discounter with 584 stores, and the Onur Ekspres Marketçilik A.Ş. retail chain (known as Onurex in Turkey) with 116 stores, as well as Devamlı İndirim Mağazacılık (Dim), a retail chain with 18 stores.
2014
The conversion of all stores into ŞOK Marketler stores was completed.
2015
Introducing a new business model and store concept, as well as opening 3 stores every day on average, ŞOK Marketler grew organically and reached 3,000 stores at year-end.
2016
With the strategy of opening 3 stores daily, it reached 4,000 stores, of which 1,000 were new. All stores were renewed according to the new concept.
2017
ŞOK Marketler expanded its presence across 81 provinces with more than 5,100 stores, and “Cepte ŞOK” mobile app was launched. ŞOK Marketler became Turkey’s first retail discounter with the mobile app “Cepte ŞOK” operating on a “Click and Collect” basis.
2018
The number of stores reached 6,364 and ŞOK Marketler, with a market size of TL 2.3 billion, undertook the largest initial public offering of the last decade.
Academy ŞOK was launched to provide easily accessible digital learning and development opportunities to employees throughout the network.
2019
Operating 7,215 stores with some 30 thousand employees, ŞOK Marketler launched ŞOK Smart Digital Services, which involves money transfers to bank accounts and credit cards at stores 7 days a week, and provided customers with the capacity to pay utility bills.
Some 12,500 bags made by 2,000 housewives were made available for customers as part of the social responsibility project “ŞOK’ta Ben de Varım,” initiated to encourage women’s participation in economic life.
2020
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, ŞOK Marketler promptly and consistently took action to protect employees’ health and its product stocks, continuing to provide customers with uninterrupted services.
Cepte ŞOK was enriched with the home delivery feature, with the orders of all customers delivered to their homes, free of charge.
Under the “Fair Agriculture from Farm to Table” project, ŞOK Marketler implemented direct procurement processes and provided a procurement guarantee to support farmers. With direct, end-to-end agricultural practices, the Company supplies the products needed by its customers in a timely fashion.
2021
In 2021, where the negative impacts of the pandemic continued, ŞOK Marketler continued to provide uninterrupted service to its customers thanks to the steps taken in digitalization. “Cepte ŞOK” was enriched with the order by phone feature, and the needs of all customers were delivered to their homes, free of charge.
The loyalty program, “ŞOK Yıldız” which is included in the “Cepte ŞOK” app and is exclusive to the online channel, customer numbers increased; and through operational excellence the customer experience also increased.
Continuing its investments rapidly without interruption as per the target of “Opening around 1,000 stores each year,” ŞOK Marketler employed approximately 4,000 employees and the total number of employees reached 39,659, in 2021.
Under the “Fair Agriculture from Farm to Table” project and through direct procurement processes, ŞOK Marketler provides a procurement guarantee to support farmers and encourages them to produce. Thus, a very large ecosystem was created, which not only includes fruits and vegetables, but also agricultural foodstuff, where thousands of people work including farmers, producers, and drivers transporting products to the stores. Instead of providing raw materials needed for production from other producers, thanks to the vertical integration for agricultural products, ŞOK Marketler produces the raw materials itself, and thus supports the budgets of its customers by offering quality products at fair prices.
2022
Expanding the scope of its support provided to the agricultural sector and farmers, ŞOK Marketler continues to bring quality products produced by farmers across Turkey to its customers at the most advantageous prices with the Fair Agriculture from Farm to Table Project. With contracted farming activities, direct procurement practices, and sales in more than 10 thousand stores across Turkey, ŞOK Marketler supports the development of farmers.
The Cepte ŞOK home delivery application, which has become popular and appreciated by customers, had a great increase in the number of orders thanks to its different payment options and the free delivery service within the same day.
As one of Turkey’s leading food retail chains, 7 new warehouses were opened in 2022 to provide uninterrupted service in Turkey’s 81 provinces and the total number of warehouses increased to 38.
ŞOK Marketler opened its 10,000th store across Turkey.
ŞOK Marketler, whose employees live by the motto “ŞOK takes its strength from me,” has contributed to the employment of 45,293 people in Turkey.
At ŞOK Marketler, which takes its place in the hearts of customers with the new advertising campaign prepared with the slogan “ŞOK Seviyoruz,” 3.5 million people say “ŞOK Seviyoruz” every day and increase their money with every purchase. The commercials, in which customers buy fresh and quality products at affordable prices at ŞOK Marketler and share their joy by pleasing their relatives with the money left over, were designed to appeal to both the customers’ pockets and hearts.
While continuing to offer quality and reliable private label products such as Piyale, Mis, Mintax, Amigo, and Evin to customers at the most affordable prices, Piyale, known as the brand that introduced pasta to Turkey, celebrated its 100th anniversary.
2023
To provide uninterrupted services throughout Turkey’s 81 provinces, 674* new stores and two new warehouses were opened in 2023. The total number of ŞOK Marketler stores and warehouses reached 10,725 and 40, respectively.
ŞOK Marketler continued to contribute to the country’s employment by reaching 46,867 employees. In line with its goal to offer more opportunities for women in business life, ŞOK Marketler raised the rate of female employees in its workforce from 51% to 54%. With a high rate of female employees, the Company is proud to provide equal opportunities to women in the workplace.
By means of a campaign launched in January under the leadership of ŞOK Marketler, the prices of 1,000 products were kept unchanged in order to contribute to both the country’s economy and customers’ budgets. Within the scope of the campaign, the prices of 1,000 products remained constant throughout January. The products, selected from among the staples that meet a household’s basic needs, included items such as rice, pasta, legumes, flour, tea, coffee, sugar, oil and margarine, as well as vegetables like potatoes and onions. In addition to gaining the appreciation of customers, ŞOK Marketler was proud to be a pioneer in the sector; the Company’s discount campaign was soon replicated by other sector stakeholders.
Following the devastating earthquake in Turkey, ŞOK Marketler swiftly dispatched supplies to help meet the needs of people in the region. Container stores were quickly erected and opened to provide services in the region and support efforts to supply urgent needs. Moreover, in its recruitment processes, ŞOK Marketler gave priority to candidates from the earthquake-stricken region. The Company also supported economic re-development in the area and the continuation of production by purchasing products from regional producers, e.g., through the purchase of lemons from Hatay Arsuz.
Through the Win loyalty program launched in July, customers’ cost-effective shopping experiences became even more rewarding. With the “Win” app, which was welcomed with great interest, campaigns are organized every week in different product groups and for selected products and brands, both in stores and on Cepte ŞOK. Customers registered in the Win program earn TL as they buy such promotional products, with the earned TL amounts deposited into customers’ Win wallets and made available for use in subsequent purchases both in ŞOK stores and via the Cepte ŞOK app. ŞOK Marketler aims to increase customer loyalty through the Win program as well as to offer multichannel services to its customers.
As part of the “Count Me In” project, developed and launched in 2023, various handicrafts produced by different women’s cooperatives in Turkey began to be offered for sale in ŞOK stores. Through this project, ŞOK Marketler aims to furnish economic support to women entrepreneurs and provide equal opportunities for women.
In October, a discount campaign was launched to share the celebration of the 100th anniversary of our Republic with customers. Throughout October, discounts of up to 50% were offered on a total of 1,000 products, including staples, in stores and via the Cepte ŞOK app. Customers were also provided with profits via the Win loyalty program.
ŞOK Extra was launched to offer affordable products in different product groups, taking into account the needs of customers. With ŞOK Extra, non-food products that can be purchased in the store and via Cepte ŞOK are delivered to customers by courier services, thus garnering greater visibility for the products. This adds a distinct value to the Company with the motto “WORLD BRANDS AT ŞOK.”