Trendyol is a Turkish

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

platform headquartered in Istanbul. The company was founded in 2010 by

Demet Mutlu Demet Mutlu is a Turkish entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Trendyol, an e-commerce operating in Turkey and Europe. She left Harvard Business School in 2010 and founded Trendyol. She is also an investor and co-founder of Peak Games, an ...

, Evren Üçok, and Begüm Tekin. As of 2024, the Chinese company

Alibaba Group Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba (), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in E-commerce in China, e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzho ...

was the company's largest shareholder, holding 70% of shares.

History

Trendyol was co-founded by

, Evren Üçok, and Begüm Tekin, in 2010. Üçok is the

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

, Erdem Inan is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, and Çağlayan Çetin is the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. Dolap was founded in 2016 as a second-hand product trading platform and acquired by Trendyol in 2018. 1.4 million individual sellers are currently active on Dolap. Trendyol Express was founded as a delivery network in 2018. The company's Trendyol Tech group was approved as a

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

centre in 2019 by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Trendyol entered the European market in October 2020, launching a website serving 27 countries. The company's first office outside Turkey opened in Berlin in 2022. In late 2023, Trendyol announced plans to expand operations in Eastern Europe in 2024, starting in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. Trendyol confirmed plans to open a warehouse in Bucharest and offices in Romania in 2025. On 12 July 2023, Trendyol took over sponsorship of the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

and

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

football leagues from Spor Toto, by paying ₺700.000.000. In 2024, the company launched its first in-house

large language model A large language model (LLM) is a language model trained with self-supervised machine learning on a vast amount of text, designed for natural language processing tasks, especially language generation. The largest and most capable LLMs are g ...

, won in the "e-export" category at the

Turkish Exporters Assembly The Turkish Exporters Assembly (), also known as TİM, is the umbrella organization for all Turkish Export associations. TiM represents over 95 thousand exporters with 27 sectors and 61 Exporters Associations. The main objectives of the Tu ...

's award ceremony, and co-organized an e-commerce

hackathon A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon or codefest; a portmanteau of '' hacking'' and ''marathon'') is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 h ...

Adana Province Adana Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey located in central Cilicia. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78.25% of the r ...

for

Teknofest Teknofest, short for Teknofest Aerospace and Technology Festival, is the largest aviation, aerospace, and technology festival in the world, taking place in Turkey. It was first held at Istanbul Airport in September 2018 by the Turkish Technolog ...

. In 2023, Trendyol announced a memorandum of understanding with a Saudi Arabian retail company to launch a fashion platform in the Gulf. Trendyol's mobile app in the Gulf region debuted in August 2023 and reached 30,000 orders per day by November. Trendyol also operates in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. In 2023, Trendyol signed an agreement with PASHA Holding to start operating in Azerbaijan in May. In 2024, Trendyol debuted its first own-brand womenswear

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

collection for the Gulf and opened a

pop-up Popup, Pop up or pop-up may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Pop Up'' (album), a 2007 album by Yelle * ''Pop Up'' (video game), a video game also known as ''Bumpy'' * Pop-up book, a book with three-dimensional pages Computing * Pop- ...

store in the region at a shopping mall in Riyadh. The company also launched an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

-designed fashion collection exclusive to Gulf nations and confirmed plans to open offices in Dubai and Riyadh. In October 2024, Trendyol had approximately 2 million customers in Azerbaijan and inaugurated its local office in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. As of 2025, the company was one of twelve signatories to the European Union Consumer Protection Commitment, a framework of voluntary measures aimed at strengthening product safety and consumers’ digital rights throughout the EU.

Funding and ownership

Six months after Trendyol was founded in 2010, American firm

Tiger Global Tiger Global Management, LLC (often referred to as Tiger Global and formerly known as Tiger Technology) is an American investment firm founded by Chase Coleman III, a former Tiger Management employee under Julian Robertson, in March 2001. It ma ...

invested in the company; subsequent investors included the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

and American

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm

Kleiner Perkins Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneur ...

has invested $1.4 billion in Trendyol. Alibaba invested an initial $728 million dollars in 2018 and followed with an additional $350 million at a $9.4 billion valuation in 2021. In August 2021, Trendyol raised $1.5 billion at a $16.5 billion valuation;

Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (Arabic: شركة أبوظبي التنموية القابضة ش.م.ع), branded ADQ since 2020, is a significant sovereign wealth fund based in Abu Dhabi. It was established in 2018 as a comparatively ...

(ADQ),

General Atlantic General Atlantic, legal main entity General Atlantic Service Company, L.P., (also known as "GA") is an American growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for global growth companies, headquartered in New York, United States. T ...

, Princeville Capital,

Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...

, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 were among funding round participants. The investment was SoftBank's first in Turkey and Trendyol became the first Turkish business to be named a decacorn (valuation exceeding $10 billion). Alibaba has a 70 percent stake in Trendyol, as of 2024.

Operations

In Turkey, the company's app combines a marketplace that uses services from four of the company's groups: the delivery service Trendyol Express, the

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

network Trendyol Go, the

digital wallet A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet or mobile wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and s ...

Trendyol Pay, and the customer-to-customer platform Dolap, along with other services. Trendyol Tech specialises in native language processing; real-time data analysis; machine learning; deep learning; image processing; data visualisation; text simulation and big data. In 2022, Trendyol became the first Turkish e-commerce business to design a sustainability plan. The company's plan addresses

carbon reduction Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sour ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, packing and production,

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

, and

diversity, equity, and inclusion In the United States, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are organizational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject ...

(DEI). Trendyol also establishes digital centers offering technology training and encouraging smart agriculture practices in rural Turkey as part of the Villages of Tomorrow programme in collaboration with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

, and has dedicated initiatives that support

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

and young artists. Trendyol had logistics centers in Ankara and an export operation center at

Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport is the larger of two international airports serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. It is the largest airport in Turkey, the largest privately-owned airport in the ...

in 2023. Approximately 1.5 million customers in Germany purchase products from 200 Turkish brands via Trendyol, as of 2024. Trendyol operates in

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

markets and has warehouses in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).>

Sponsorships

Trendyol sponsored the

Turkish National Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC; , TMOK) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded in the era of the Ottoman Empire in 1908 ...

and the five athletes representing Turkey at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo. The company has also sponsored national teams with the

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...

and the

Turkish Volleyball Federation The Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) (in Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Voleybol Federasyonu'') is the governing body of volleyball and beach volleyball in Turkey. Formed in 1958, it is based in Ankara. The TVF is a member of the Fédé ...

, as well as the 2023–2024 season of the

and the TFF 1. Lig. Trendyol launched an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

-themed line of clothing and accessories ahead of the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris, marking the first time the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

partnered with a Turkish brand on merchandise. Trendyol also became an official partner of the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

football championship as well as the Turkish National Paralympic Committee.

Controversies

Algorithm manipulation

In October 2021, the Turkish Competition Authority opened an investigation to determine if Trendyol had violated

competition law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

. The

competition regulator A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of markets. It identifies and corrects practices causing market impediments and distortions through competition law (also known as antitrust law). In general it is a governm ...

's investigation concluded in July 2023, and Trendyol was fined approximately

₺ The lira (; Currency sign, sign: Turkish lira sign, ₺; ISO 4217, ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey. It is also legal tender in the ''de facto'' state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. One lira i ...

61.3 million for systemic algorithm manipulation and unfair use of third party marketplace data.

Bribery allegations

After the E-Commerce Law was published in the Official Gazette of Turkey Republic in 2022, Trendyol was accused of paying unregistered money to Cumhuriyet Newspaper in exchange for negative press against the law. This accusation was not accepted by the newspaper. Cumhuriyet Newspaper Foundation filed a criminal complaint against the officials of the period, alleging that they "received unregistered money" in exchange for manipulative news against the e-commerce law that came into force in January 2023.

References

External links

* {{Official website Online retailers of Turkey Retail companies established in 2010 Internet properties established in 2010 2010 establishments in Turkey Companies based in Istanbul