Turkish Tech Retailer "Evaluating" Iran Market

A Turkish electronics retailer has said they are “studying options in this [Iran] market”, earlier this week in Istanbul.

Turkey's leading electronics retailer Teknosa shared its plans for growth in 2016 on Wednesday, revealing it would invest as much as TL 40 million ($13.45 million) in the market this year, Todayszaman reported.

Talking about the company's expansion strategy, Sabanci Holding Retail and Insurance Group President Haluk Dincer said they would first focus on potential acquisitions and on opening new domestic stores in 2016.

“Currently we do not have a plan to merge with or acquire a foreign rival, but we are closely watching the Iranian market,” he said.

Dincer added that it was too early to comment on whether Teknosa would enter the Iranian market but said the country's retail sector had huge potential.

“You don't expect such investments to take place overnight, but we are assessing what we can do in Iran,” Dincer said, stressing that regional and domestic political and market uncertainties make it harder to make long-term plans.

A total of 278 Teknosa stores across Turkey feature a wide range of consumer electronics and household appliances, and the chain is currently the market leader in Turkey's billion dollar electronics retail market.

Currently, Iran has no major electronic retailer in the country. However, some mobile phone distributors are setting up a mobile phone retailers to push ahead with growth for their respective handset models.