Since the first months of the year, several industries in Turkey began to throw off the negative effects of the pandemic, and the ready-to-wear and apparel industries were amongst the leading ones. A part of Samancı Group, Halifaks made a statement based on TIM data and explained that apparel and ready-to-wear exports increased by 11.62% in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous year and reached 4.7 billion dollars.
Making evaluations about the data they examined, Samancı Group Board Member Mahir Samancı said that they saw that the sectors which are in close contact with the end-user, have learned important lessons about the digital transformation in the pandemic. Mahir Samancı stated that this situation enabled the clothing and apparel industry to enter a quick recovery period and determined that the moves to integrate into the digital age had a positive effect on exports.
“We can close this year with 20 billion dollars in exports“
Mahir Samancı commented; “If we succeed in evaluating these moves as an indispensable condition for seizing the future, not as a saviour, we can ensure that the momentum is sustainable”. Mahir Samancı underlined that if the right steps are taken, the sector can take the state in the first quarter of the year much further and close the year with exports of 20 billion dollars.
The most exporting city is Istanbul
According to the evaluation made in the light of TIM data, Germany was the most exported to with 844 million dollars. It was followed by Spain with 570 million, the United Kingdom with 410 million, the Netherlands with 324 million and France with 230 million dollars. Besides, our top exporting city was Istanbul with 3.2 billion dollars, followed by Bursa with 376 million, Izmir with 351 million and Denizli with 293 million dollars.
The concept of “Direct Sales from the Manufacturer to the Consumer” became prominent
Exemplifying the subject through the works of Halifaks, one of the 6 brands within the group, Mahir Samancı reminded that Halifaks has been producing men’s knitwear and t-shirts since 1965. Stating that the brand is wholesaling and retailing since its establishment, and has increased its digital investments for the last 6 months and accelerated its retail activities in e-commerce, Mahir Samancı continued as follows; “In times when the world and trade were much smaller than today, sales were made directly from the manufacture to the end consumer. In today’s global world, the market for brands is all over the world and we can now deliver what we produce directly to consumers through e-commerce”.
Stating that they can prioritize the customer experience by adopting the business model DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) with the concept of “Direct Sales to Consumer from the Manufacturer”, Mahir Samancı said; “Our aim is to position Halifaks, which has gained value among wholesale brands so far, among the rising brands in retail by following the correct digital transformation steps, hence to further increase our contribution to the national economy”.