The crossroads between Europe and Asia

Entrepreneur

Turkey has long been a major player in the global textile business. The country built a competency in the industry during the Ottoman Empire and continue to this day. Turkey is one of the world’s leading producers of cotton and the country is now embarking on a path to create a diversified textile industry (Saba, 2013). Turkey’s geographic position situates it well for sales around the region, from Europe to Russia to Iran and the Middle East. The Turkish government has also invested in creating a fashion hub in Istanbul to help increase the degree to which the Turkish textile industry is vertically integrated (ITKIB, 2010).

Turkey is a major emerging economy. Situated at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, it has a population of 80 million. Turkey’s GDP in 2012 was $1.125 trillion, such that it ranks 17th in the world and 6th in Europe. The country’s economy still has a high level of government involvement, and agriculture is a relatively significant portion of the GDP given the development level of Turkey. The GDP has experienced strong growth up until 2012, when growth slipped to 3%.

The importance of textiles to Turkey is important, and has become part of the Turkish culture. The government recognizes the importance of the industry and has proven willing to invest in its development, not only in terms of trade policy but also through spending to vertically integrate the industry. Economically, textiles are worth around $5.4 billion to the Turkish export market, and there is strong domestic consumption as well (IKTIB, 2010). Overall, the conditions in the Turkish textile industry are favorable. Factor costs are significantly below what they might be in the EU, but the quality is just as high. This gives Turkey tremendous competitive advantage that it leverages in order to become a major textile supplier to the EU in particular.

The entrepreneur is working in the textile business, designing denim jeans and other fashions. The clothes are sold in fashionable boutiques, primarily in Istanbul but also in Ankara and Izmir. The entrepreneur has recently begun selling Europe, and is making inquiries about the Russian market as well, since there appears to be significant growth potential in both of these export markets.

Interview

Q: Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. How are you? How is your business?

A: I am well. I just had my first child, a daughter. I’m very excited, but I do not sleep as much as I used to. But business is going very well. I’m working with my designers to finalize the fall season right now. We’re about double from last year so it is quite hectic.

Q: The GDP is growing much slower than that. What are you doing right?

A: We’re small. That helps. But we also have a lot of belief in what we are doing, that what we are doing is going to help change how people perceive Turkish clothes.

Q: This success — where did it come from?

A: A combination of factors. I grew up near Gaziantep, and so I was exposed to how big the cotton business in this country is. I went to school in Germany, because my father lived there for a while. I saw a market there, and when I came back to Turkey I wanted to find a way to get involved. I was encouraged by the relative weakness of the lira, and I thought that it would be best for my future to run my own business. That way, if the economy struggles, I still have control over my own fate. I knew people in Istanbul who wanted to get into fashion design, and they were attending school. The government is funding a school for designers, to make sure that they stay in Turkey. But my friends, they are wonderful designers, but they are not business people. So I decided that is what I would do.

Q: So you decided to start a clothing company? How could you afford that?

A: We started very small. I had the two designers working on the clothes, and they had their mothers and sisters sew the clothes by hand. It was very small. Everybody worked from home the first season. I rented a tiny shop in Cihangir, the sort of closet-sized shop you might have found an old kahvehane (ed. A Turkish coffee stall — room for a samovar and a couple of stools) in. So we had very little capital, just what I could borrow from my friends and family. We all had other jobs. I worked as an assistant manager at a restaurant on Istiklal, trying to learn a few things about businss like how to manage the books. After the first season, I went to the bank to get a loan. That did not work out well, but I went back after the second season and I got a loan. We expanded, and now four years later we keep expanding.

Q: You are going international now?

A: We have a contract to sell to a wholesaler in Berlin. It is not a big contract, but I knew some people who knew some people there. They say my German sounds funny, but it was good enough to get me that deal. It probably amounts to less than half of what I might sell in our main store here — we have a second one we are trying to open in Be-tika? — but it is a start. We are trying to work with some people in Moscow, too, because we think that is a good market. We have talked to trade representatives who are working to sell Turksih textiles around the world and they pointed us to Russia as a good market for what we do.

A: And what do you do — why are you successful?

Q: We have a good quality, but the price is right, too. Our designers are excellent, but we can make their designs quite affordably. We have a cost advantage over clothes of equal quality that are made in Europe. In Russia, it is mostly a quality advantage — their basic clothing staples are not that great. You have to view each international market as unique. That way, if you try to tailor your strengths to each market, you will be more competitive. This is not a good industry for companies that are trying to be second best. We expect to compete differently if we go to a smaller city in Turkey, much less if we go to another country.

Imagining

If I ran a clothing business in Istanbul I would likely begin to think about my strategy. There are many niches within the market, and what works in Istanbul might not translate to smaller cities in Turkey where there is less money and people are less fashionable. The key to success is to understand your target market and how you can appeal to it. I would also be wary of embarking on an international strategy before I had conquered the domestic market. There is always a tradeoff between opportunity and spreading oneself thin. He has lived in Germany so knows the culture a little bit, but the experience of trying to sell over there is probably a bit daunting.

I would also evaluate my product mix and my positioning. The quality at a low price positioning is great, but the clothes must live up to the quality part. If friends and family are doing the production that is probably not a sustainable model. This brings us to the third recommendation. He needs a plan to scale up. He is already exploring foreign markets without thinking it through too much, but eventually he will need to professionalize the business. Too often he is at his own store, which takes away from the time he could use to build the business. Finding ways to delegate authority is an important thing for entrepreneurs when they grow. When a company is in the beginning or high growth stage of the business cycle, there comes a point when the founder must let go some control so that the business can be more professionally run.

The current business model is somewhat aimless, but oriented towards high end positioning. An alternate direction is that the business can focus on becoming a volume supplier. The designer is capable of having a mainstream touch, and Turkey is a great place to follow a high-volume, low-margin business model for export. This would leverage the low cost of production and the effort that the government puts into creating export opportunities. At this point, as an unknown brand, he still has the capability to go in that direction.

Works Cited:

CIA World Factbook. (2013). Turkey. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html

ITKIB. (2010). Turkish textile industry. stanbul Tekstil ve Konfeksiyon “hracatc” Birlikleri Retrieved April 29, 2013 from http://www.itkib.org.tr/english/about/sectors/textile/textile_info.pdf

Saba, G. (2013). Global marketing — Turkish textile industry and its competition power. Ege University. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from http://www.slideshare.net/GamzeSaba/global-marketing-turkish-textile-industry-and-its-competition-power

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!