Tarkan Özbudak is feeling glum. For most of his life, he has made a good living in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. But now, sitting outside his shop’s display of fine Iznik ceramics, he complains that business is “dismal”.
“Everyone is struggling,” says the 55-year-old, gesturing at the other stores that line the vaulted arcades of the over 500-year-old bazaar. “The only companies making money are the big ones.”
Yet Turkey’s large businesses are doing no better. Almost a third of the country’s 500 largest groups made an operating loss last year, according to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. Unemployment is rising nationally. Bankruptcies are edging up. Companies have warned of mounting distress across entire sectors. Even some of the country’s mental health professionals have given up hope.