I know I repeat the phrase “When one person changes, everything changes.” constantly. Because I believe in the power of words, and I believe that repetition is one of the most effective ways to create lasting impact. At the very beginning of this first installment of the most important concluding section of our series, I feel the need to emphasize this strongly. Our aim is not to demotivate anyone or to criticize or blame anyone for past mistakes! On the contrary, I operate with the principle that “to see the future, one must look not only at trends but also at history.” My sole aim is to contribute, even if only in a small way, to our domestic retail sector. In our country, until the mid-1950s, food retailing was largely carried out by grocery stores (“bakkal”) and various types of small shopkeepers such as butchers and greengrocers. However, as migration to cities intensified during those years, even access to basic food products became a problem in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir; this is a historical fact.
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