Amazon Launches E-commerce Operations in Turkey

Category: Business

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. up and running / ʌp ænd ˈrʌnɪŋ / (idiom) – recently launched
    Example:

    After months of production, our official company website is now up and running!


  2. attend to / əˈtɛnd tu / (phrasal) – to deal with someone or something
    Example:

    The waiter was busy attending to the customers.


  3. branch out / brɑːntʃ aʊt / (phrasal) – to do something that one does not normally do
    Example:

    Our business did not sell electronics, but we recently branched out into offering computers.


  4. auspicious / ɑˈspɪʃəs / (adj) – likely to end up successful
    Example:

    He graduated with honors, so his career is off to an auspicious start.


  5. hatch / hætʃ / (v) – to come up with something
    Example:

    The employer is hatching a plan for a surprise awarding ceremony.


Article

Read the text below.

American e-commerce giant Amazon launched its services in Turkey on September 19.


The company’s new Turkish website, Amazon.com.tr, is now up and running and features a wide variety of products, such as books, electronics, household items, and toys. With its huge product selection, Amazon hopes to provide customers with everything they need online at more affordable prices. The company also promises easier and faster delivery to its customers.


Aside from attending to its customers’ needs, Amazon Turkey is also catering to local businesses. The company lets businesses of any size sell on its website for free to encourage them to branch out into the online platform. Alpagut Cilingir, the website’s Seller Services head, said that Amazon will produce more tools that can help in further selling its products in the future.


Amazon Turkey’s promising and auspicious future already attracted many local businesses. On its first day alone, over 1,200 local businesses reportedly signed up on Amazon.com.tr, and about two million products were posted on the site.


In addition to Turkey, Saudi Arabia is another country where Amazon will run its operations. Recently, Souq, an e-commerce site in Saudi Arabia, introduced the Amazon Global Store. Through the site, Saudi Arabia locals can conveniently access over one million products that are for sale on Amazon in the United States.


Amazon is also hatching a plan to start an insurance comparison website, a search engine where people can compare prices of insurance policies. If the plan pushes through, the website could be a huge success for Amazon because many of its existing customers buy products, which need insurance coverage, from its website.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think that Amazon Turkey would be equally beneficial to small and big businesses? Why or why not?
• What strategies do you think Amazon Turkey can employ to encourage more businesses to sell their products on its website?

Discussion B

• If you were a business owner, would you sell your products on an e-commerce site? Why or why not?
• If you owned an e-commerce business, what type of products would you like to be sold on your website (e.g. clothes, books, food)? Discuss.