German do-it-yourself chain Praktiker recently sold its 27-store chain in Romania and its brand locally to Turkish investor Omer Susli, who controls the distribution business Search Chemicals, according to Mediafax newswire, quoting market sources. This comes soon after Praktiker sold its Ukraine business, and after it went insolvent in Germany. In Romania, Praktiker has yearly sales of some EUR 140 million and about 1,700 employees. The buyer is a much smaller company, with a turnover of about EUR 10 million, and 12 employees in 2012, according to data from Ziarul Financiar.
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations mourns the victims of the Khojaly massacres in Western Azerbaijan. As Human Rights Watch documented, between February 25 and 26, 1992, the Armenian Armed Forces and Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment massacred 613 Azerbaijani civilians, 106 of them women and 83 of them children. Armenian forces took hostage another 1275, torturing 56 to death; another 150 remain missing to date. Over 480 civilians were disabled through mutilation, 76 of them teenage boys and girls. Young girls were raped and sexually mutilated. Twenty-five children lost both their parents, while 130 children were left motherless or fatherless.
Turkey’s Culture and Tourist Office in New York, and agency M. Silver/ A Division of Finn Partners, have won Gold in the prestigious Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Adrian Awards. Announced at the Adrian Awards Gala at the New York Marriott Marquis last night, the recognition for major feature stories in The New York Times brings Turkey a total of four gold awards awarded over the past four years, highlighting the effectiveness of M. Silver’s ongoing public relations program for the country.
Caught in a trade dispute with Russia, Chobani is donating the 5,000 cups of Greek yogurt originally intended for American Olympic athletes competing in Sochi, Russia, to food banks in New York and New Jersey. See our earlier story. "As a proud supporter of the Olympics and Team USA over the past four years, we're disappointed our athletes won't be able to enjoy Chobani while they compete in the games as we all hoped, and are deeply appreciative to everyone who tried to help get it there, especially Sens. [Charles] Schumer and [Kirsten] Gillibrand and various officials here at home," said Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani.
