Apparel Manufacturers Met at IFCO
Istanbul Apparel and Fashion Fair (Istanbul Fashion Connection-IFCO), Europe’s largest apparel event, was held at the Istanbul Expo Center between 9-11 August.
Organized by the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (İHKİB), in cooperation with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) and with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, the fair brought together global apparel purchasing groups and thousands of buyers. The fair, where the latest fashion products were exhibited, hosted more than 30 thousand buyers from 5 continents. In the seminars where all developments in the fashion industry will be discussed at the fair, the themes were conveyed with the latest fashion trends. The private collections of the participating companies met with domestic and foreign visitors at IFCO fashion shows.
The opening of the fair was held with the participation of Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat and Governor of Istanbul Davut Gül. Mustafa Gültepe, President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), stated in his opening speech that they have made IFCO and Istanbul the meeting point of the global fashion industry.
“We will achieve our 2023 goals”
Gültepe said that they are continuing their journey with the goal of making Turkey one of the top 10 countries in exports, and that their 2028 vision will be their first major test in this journey. Gültepe said, “We are working day and night with our 27 sectors, more than 115 thousand exporters and 61 exporter associations for the export of 400 billion dollars of goods and 200 billion dollars of services.” Expressing that their task is not easy in reaching this goal, but they are working very well, Gültepe talked about the difficulties they have experienced recently. Gültepe said, “We closed 7 months with 143.4 billion dollars of exports. Compared to last year, we are almost at a breakeven point. The level of the exchange rate and the new regulations on access to finance have given our exporters a breath of fresh air. We will reach our target of 265 billion dollars in product exports and 120 billion dollars in service exports on the anniversary.”
“IFCO Keeps the Industry Alive”
Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) President Şekib Avdagiç said that in order for the ready-to-wear and apparel industry to maintain its competitiveness, it should not compromise on branding, design, value-added production and well-equipped manpower. Expressing that İHKİB keeps the sector alive with IFCO, which is organized twice a year, Avdagiç said, “It is leading the way to instantly identify and eliminate hesitations that may occur in various fields. Therefore, I am happy to see that the synergy provided by IFCO, which I am a close follower, continues unabated. The fair will continue to become the reference fair of the fashion and apparel world as the years go by.”
Mustafa Paşahan, Vice President of İHKİB, stated that they made IFCO a brand of Turkey on this road where they realized the dream of the sector for 30 years, and said that they achieved great success in the previous 3 organizations. Stating that they hosted 50 thousand visitors from over 100 countries in the first 3 events, Paşahan said, “IFCO, which entered the calendar of international fairs, soon became one of the meeting addresses of the fashion industry. This fair was a milestone in making Anatolia a production center. Today, 100′ We are very happy to host thousands of visitors from more than one country.”
