We Have to be a Brand in Denim
Ahmet Öksüz, President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB), stated that Turkey has a great power in denim fabric and denim ready-to-wear worldwide and said; “Sustainability and recycling are very critical issues for the sector. However, we have to become a brand or make licence and brand purchases. We cannot get anywhere with subcontracting anymore.”
Turkey, which has the world’s fourth largest capacity in denim fabric and garment production, exports an average of 2 billion dollars per year. However, with the rapid deterioration of the cost-price relationship, especially in ready-to-wear manufacturing, export revenue fell to 1 billion 850 million dollars last year. While the share of labor expenses in costs has almost doubled in the last three years, exchange rates that cannot rise as much as inflation have negatively affected the ‘cost-price’ harmony. Despite the decline in exports due to these negative developments, Turkey managed to remain the 4th manufacturer and exporter among the world’s largest denim fabric and garment manufacturers, as in previous years.
The leading denim fabric manufacturers of the sector stated that they maintain their competitiveness despite all the difficulties and said, “We are among the highest quality and high-capacity denim fabric manufacturers in the world. Unfortunately, we have recently started to become suppliers of manufacturers abroad. As fabric manufacturers, we also have difficulties in the cost-price relationship, but we see that the situation of our domestic customers who manufacture apparel is more difficult. New supports need to be provided for their labor costs.”
“Turkey Has Worldwide Power in Denim Fabric”
Ahmet Öksüz, President of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association (ITHIB), stated that Turkey has great power in denim fabric and denim ready-to-wear worldwide, and said, “New investments have also been made on the fabric side. We are good at competition, but our competition has become difficult due to the deterioration of the cost-price relationship recently.”
Öksüz said, “Of course, sustainability and recycling are also very critical issues for the sector. However, we have to brand or we have to buy licenses and brands. We can’t get anywhere with outsourcing anymore. We have to be self-critical, unfortunately we are slow in branding,”
Stating that branding is not an easy task and requires courage, Ahmet Öksüz said: “Different companies in the sector can act together in brand purchasing. With this method, we can write much better stories in order to enter the markets directly. Because when you become a brand, you have a higher value-added product. For example, 13 years ago, we, as Kipas, received the production and distribution license of the Lee Cooper brand for a wide geography. We have the license to produce and sell clothing, especially denim, in this brand. We supply to Turkey, Russia, Balkan countries and Europe. Currently, we have 300 employees for this brand. We have 25 stores of our own, they are sold at a total of 350 points. This year, we will have a turnover of 1 billion liras of Lee Cooper.”
