The Istanbul International Textile and Ready-to-Wear Summit held at Istanbul Kültür University discussed the check list in order to make the industry more value-added and competitive. The importance of digitalization and design was once again emphasized.
Istanbul International Textile and Ready-to-Wear Summit was held on April 16-17, 2019 at Istanbul Kültür University (İKÜ) Ataköy Campus. In the event organized by the Fashion and Apparel Federation (MHGF), several important issues were discussed in different sessions for the Turkish textile and ready-to-wear industry to receive more from the 450 billion dollars’ worth global pie.
The opening speeches of the summit, which brings together the key players of the industry, were made by Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) Chairman Orhan Turan, MHGF Chairman Hüseyin Öztürk, TÜSİAD Board Member Bahadır Kaleağası and İKÜ Vice Rector. Prof. Dr. Nihal Sarıer
In his speech, MHGF Chairman Hüseyin Öztürk said that the textile and ready-to-wear is the only industry with production, employment and exports. Saying that they attach great importance to exports as an industry, Öztürk underlined the industry that makes a lot of export with less investment needs to be supported.
Textile and Ready-to-Wear Summit: the industry has great potential
After the event, Öztürk made a statement to Textilegence and said; “The textile and apparel industry is almost the only sector with production, employment and exports. Our country, which has a share of 3.4% of world ready-to-wear trade of 450 billion dollars, has the power to make a big breakthrough by mobilizing its unique potential and get more share from this cake. With Istanbul International Textile and Ready-to-Wear Summit, our aim is to mobilize this power”.
Öztürk stated that the unemployment rate of the young population in Anatolia is quite high and pointed out to the potential of the industry; “The unemployment rate of Anatolia has a very high young population. Ready-to-wear clothing is deployed in many areas such as Batman, Midyat, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Adıyaman, Denizli and Gaziantep. However, the relationship with the network in Turkey is not yet at the desired level. There is a serious lack of network access from raw material to sub-industry and customer access”. Öztürk explained that the aim of the summit was to provide a sectoral network, to bring together the purchasing teams and the manufacturer, and to take a concrete step in the university-industry cooperation.
‘Digitalization is not a luxury but a necessity’
In his speech at the event, Orhan Turan, Chairman of the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED), emphasized that the textile and ready-to-wear industry is an important bridge linking “past to future, tradition to innovation”. Turan said that the textile and ready-to-wear industry attracts attention with women’s employment approaching 40 percent. Turan indicated that textile and ready-to-wear, in 2018, was the second largest industry contributing to the country’s employment.
Turan argued that the export competence of the Turkish economy should be restructured according to change and transformation, and added that e-exports have 3 per thousand shares in total exports and that efforts should be made to increase this share. Turan; “The total market size of e-commerce in Turkey is registering an average annual growth of 31 percent. We can use digitalization as a lever to increase the competitiveness of our industry and SMEs. We should not forget that digitalization is not a luxury but rather a necessity”.
‘Textile industry is the backbone of the country’
“We are in the process of employment mobilization,” said Anadolu Aslanları Businessmen Association (ASKON) Chairman Orhan Aydın and continued; “ASKON promised 50,000 new jobs a month ago. We discussed employment by saying 81 new businesses in 81 provinces. When we bring together textile and ready-to-wear, we are at the end of the year with an export target of 30 billion dollars. Turkish textile and ready-to-wear industry has proved its maturity, we have become a country that has brands that have put themselves in the best places in the world arena and wants to make production of world brands”.
Voicing that the textile industry will grow more and would continue to be the backbone of the national industry; Aydın predicted that major foreign brands will increase their investments in Turkey; “As can be seen in the package that has been announced; we will be looking forward to both tax and judicial reforms. The textile industry is the least affected industry by several crises”.
İKÜVice Rector Prof. Dr. Nihal Sarıer indicated in her speech that Turkish textile and ready-to-wear industry has an important role in world trade; by its ability to achieve the high standards. Sarıer; “It can easily compete in international markets with its high quality and wide range of products; and stands out as the 6th largest ready-to-wear supplier worldwide. In the last 40 years the production and export in the textile industry has shifted; from low value-added products to high value-added products”.