It Is Very Proud that ITM Exhibition is Organized in Our Country Which is Well-Recognized with Its High-Quality Textile Production
Hüseyin Öztürk, President of the Turkish Fashion and Apparel Federation (MHGF), stated, ‘‘If you attend an exhibition abroad, you will be a tenant and a foreigner. Here, you are the host, and the self-confidence it gives creates a positive effect. I congratulate everyone who contributed to this exhibition and brought it to the present day.’’
Turkey Fashion and Apparel Federation (MHGF), representing sectoral and regional associations in textile, ready-to-wear, fashion, leather, leather apparel, and shoes, which are the leading sectors in employment, production, and export volume of Turkey, and the only top-level organization in the country in its field, was established in 2007 with the aggregation of 11 associations throughout the country. Hüseyin Öztürk has been the Chairman of MHGF, Turkey’s largest independent business organization in its field, since 2012. MHGF, which had 11 associations and 1500 members when Öztürk first took office, today has members of 32 associations and approximately 10 thousand companies affiliated to these associations.
MHGF President Hüseyin Öztürk is also the founder of the Candostu Organ Bağışına Evet Platform, which is one of the most important social responsibility movements in organ donation, in cooperation with the Turkish Transplantation Organizations Coordination Association (TONKKD) and the TR Ministry of Health. He also continues his duties as the Vice President of the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) since May 2018 and the President of the Ready-made Clothing Export Development Association (HİGE-DER), of which he was one of the founders in June 2018.
Historical costumes in the sock factory
Rhapsody Socks, owned by Hüseyin Öztürk, operates in Beylikdüzü, Istanbul. Rapsodi, where approximately 100 thousand dozen socks are produced per month in the 6,500 m2 factory. The company exports to 15 countries including England, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, and Bulgaria.
Rapsodi Socks also hosted the exhibition ‘‘22 Gates of Civilization Kars, Spokesperson Ani’’ in November. The clothes, which were exhibited in the Art Gallery at the Rapsodi Socks Factory were the costumes of the fashion show with the theme of ‘‘The Gate of 22 Civilization Kars, Spokesperson Ani’’ held in 2014, within the framework of Kars International Culture and Tourism Days, in cooperation with the Fashion and Apparel Federation (MHGF) and Istanbul Aydın University (IAU) Anadolu Bil Vocational School (ABMYO) Fashion Design Department.
Hüseyin Öztürk, whom we conducted an interview after the exhibition, which attracted great attention at its opening, stated, ‘‘We need to get to know our own lands and culture. We are one of the ancient countries in the world. We are wandering every inch of Anatolia. We organize fashion shows by adapting the culture and folkloric structure of ancient cities to fabrics, clothes, and costumes. The products we exhibited here were the costumes used in our fashion show in 2014. We are starting city tours that we took a break from during the pandemic period. In these works, we introduce the civilization of yesterday to the youth of today. We expect support from our industrialists in this regard.’’
Hüseyin Öztürk, President of the Turkish Fashion and Apparel Federation (MHGF)
‘‘People want to stay within the charm’’
Hüseyin Öztürk emphasized that as MHGF, they cooperated with 35 universities, communicated with more than 30 cities and it was important to bring them together, to touch someone’s life, and to create value. He continued his statements as follows, ‘‘People want to be in the attraction and be a part of beautiful things. We don’t want to be greedy and spoiled people who forget where our origins are and believe they have what they have and deserve even more. Getting rid of ego and complexes is a reason for peace. Peace also brings happiness. We, too, strive to increase happiness by showing and sharing the beauties we have.’’
Evaluating the recent increase in production and exports in the Turkish textile and ready-to-wear sector, Hüseyin Öztürk stated that the pending consumption during the pandemic period caused an increase afterward, that there was a partial increase in exports, and that the problems caused by economic problems could continue for a while. He said we could complete the normalization process as a country in the second half of 2022.
‘‘R&D and Innovation should be conducted in the big cities whilst production should be held in Anatolia’’
He made the following assessment about the trend of textile and apparel investments in Turkey moving from big cities such as Istanbul towards Anatolia: ‘‘We have been saying this for years: In big cities, parts that require intelligence such as R&D and Innovation should remain, and production should be entirely in Anatolia. However, companies that open production facilities in Anatolia with government support should use it correctly. For example, profits from incentives in the 6th region should belong to the producer but benefit the buyers. Because our investor uses the profit of the product, which has a low unit cost since it is produced with government discounts in the factory opened with incentives, by giving a discount to the buyer. Therefore, when quoting a price to the buyer, they ask for a lower price. As such, it both pushes the competition and lowers the average price of the country. The country is turning into a cheap market. Unfortunately, many of our companies are not aware of this. This will become a problem in the future.’’
Emphasizing that Turkey must have a strategy regarding production, Hüseyin Öztürk expressed the following, ‘‘Turkey does not produce big world brands in ready-made clothing, but it sends products to 210 countries. Turkish companies learn about production first. After that, those who do their job well become brands. We have to get over this. It is important that competent opinion leaders guide investors correctly. Unforesightful made investments are the repetition of past mistakes.
We have many advantages in our production. For example, we can utilize the young population in high value-added manufacturing and make it efficient. NGOs have a lot of work to do here. This needs to be done through social change.’’
‘‘We must present our success in production to the world as a brand’’
Referring to the branding of production in Turkey, Hüseyin Öztürk explained the issue with examples from other countries as follows: ‘‘Japan, which everyone despised when it was called Japanese Made in the 1970s, has now launched many brands. World brands are also increasing in other Far East countries such as China and Korea.
It is also important that the country itself is a brand. For example, Italian clothing, French perfume, Swiss watch…
What we need to do is to present our success in production to the world as a brand. When we look at the Turkish textile and apparel industry, we have many advantages such as the machinery used in production, our position in the market, high-quality products.’’
‘‘It is very proud to have the ITM Exhibition in our country which is well-recognized with its high-quality textile production’’
Hüseyin Öztürk elaborated on his opinions on ITM Exhibitions with the following statements: ‘‘International exhibitions held in our country are very important to us. Especially an exhibition like ITM, which is a world brand, has the feature of contributing to everywhere, including the promotion of the country and tourism. In this sense, we care about exhibitions. The exhibition grows and renews itself with its experience every year and also has features such as bringing new companies and improving existing companies. The exhibition is not only a product sales area but also an R&D center for designing new products with its collaborators.
It is very proud to organize the ITM Exhibition in our country which is well-recognized with its high-quality textile production. If you attend an exhibition abroad, you will be a tenant and a foreigner. Here, you are the host, and the self-confidence it gives creates a positive effect. I congratulate everyone who contributed to this exhibition and brought it to the present day.
Exhibitions also revise education. It shows what the smart people of the country should be led to. The right step taken here goes right with the effect of the multiplier on its own axis. That’s why we applaud and respect good work.’’
Interview: Z.Seda Demirdelen