The coronavirus outbreak continues to affect people and economies deeply. On the one hand, while the number of cases and deaths increase, on the other hand, due to the decisions taken, it has a shrinking effect on the economies. In this context, the effects of the outbreak on the Turkish economy and in particular on the Turkish textile and apparel industry are on the agenda. Aegean Clothing Industrialists Association (EGSD) organized a panel titled “Reflections of corona virus to the textile and apparel industry in the national and international market”.
The names among the speakers of the panel organized under the moderation of the Aegean Ready Wear and Apparel Exporters Union (EHKIB) Chairman Burak Sertbaş were as; Hugo Boss Assistant General Manager Nurgül Şahin, LC Waikiki Supply Manager Şenol DallıLc Waikiki Overseas Procurement Manager Yaşar Bozkurt, Söktaş Vice President Seyhan Aktemur, and Narkonteks textile company owner, EHKİB Vice Chairman and Turkey Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD) Vice Chairman of the Board Toygar Narbay.
EGSD Chairman Hayati Ertuğrul stated that they organized this event in order to inform the sector representatives about the coronavirus outbreak and to address the effects of the outbreak on the sector. Ertuğrul; “Textiles and ready-to-wear, which is a human-intensive sector, is affected by this outbreak in every sense. Textile and ready-to-wear should take urgent measures in this sense. ”
Half of Hugo Boss’s stores in China closed due to outbreak
Hugo Boss Assistant General Manager Nurgül Şahin explained that, as a global brand, they were affected by this outbreak like other brands and took precautions accordingly. Underlining that they are in a labour-intensive sector, Şahin noted that human health is at risk due to the outbreak. Stating that this outbreak had a great impact on the supply chain, Şahin said; “For this reason, effective management is very important. I would like to give an example of the effect of this outbreak. Half of Hugo Boss’s 150 stores in China were closed last month (February). You will have to manage the right operations effectively, or there will be companies that will be in a very difficult situation”.
EGSD panel speaker Yaşar Bozkurt; “Our shelves are full but our stores are empty”
One of Turkey’s largest clothing retailers Lc Waikiki’s Overseas Procurement Manager Yaşar Bozkurt, in his speech announced that they do not have cancellation of orders from China. Pointing out that some companies are trying to shift their purchases from China to other countries, Bozkurt said that the big brands have filled the limited capacities of the fabric factories in Bangladesh. Stating that LC Waikiki will increase to 1200 stores by the end of 2020, Bozkurt said; “The effect of this outbreak is now on end consumers and sales rather than production. While companies shift their supply to other countries to overcome the production problem, our main problem is end consumers and customers. In short, as a sector, our shelves are full, but our stores are empty”.
Lc Waikiki Supply Manager Şenol Dallı said that one of every 10 manufacturer in Turkey worked for LC Waikiki. Stating that they continued to capacity development in Turkey; Dallı announced that they have supported a lot of established apparel companies. Dallı argued that the sector is trying to take measures against this outbreak; but the sector will have difficulty in the event of another outbreak.
China is rapidly regaining its sectoral power
Söktaş Assistant General Manager Seyhan Aktemur said that as suppliers; they have to distribute the risk and find alternative supply channels. Aktemur indicated that in order to protect competitiveness, those produced in Turkey and import items should be re-evaluated. Reminding that shipments from China started again as of the end of February; Aktemur said that Chinese companies are working with 80% capacity. Aktemur added that the number of cases in China has decreased; and that China has rapidly regained its former sectoral power.
China will have a growth below 4% in 2020
EHKİB Vice President Toygar Narbay stated that China is expected to grow below 4% in 2020 due to the outbreak. Narbay said that China is the world’s biggest power in textile and ready-to-wear; and that the Chinese economy is 7.7% dependent on ready-to-wear and textile industry. Narbay said that the issue gained more importance due to the China-US trade agreement.