Abstract
In order to categorize the global diffusion of supermarkets, the metaphor of waves is often used. This is a simplification, however, which obscures the fact that developments in the countries experiencing these waves of innovation are much more nuanced. This case study on the development of the Turkish grocery retail sector since the 1950s, shows how this development can be divided into different phases. Furthermore, it demonstrates that state retail chains paved the way for private actors, while most studies about the modernization of the retail sector have a focus on private companies or - even more specifically - on transnational corporations