Senior Turkish retail executive forced out after criticizing government economic policy
The chief operator of Turkey’s largest discount chain resigned from a retail association post after threats from Erdogan's ally Nationalist Movement Party.
A top executive for Turkey’s largest discount retailer was forced to step down after criticizing the government’s charges that supermarket chains were responsible for soaring inflation, becoming the latest casualty of the government vs. chain stores blame game.
Galip Aykac, chief operating officer of BIM discount stores and head of the retailers’ association, said last week that supermarkets were no more responsible for the rising food inflation than exchange offices were responsible for the freefall of the Turkish lira’s value against the greenback. According to official figures released today, Turkey’s annual food inflation rate is 102.6%.
