BY HAKAN TASCI
TODAY’S ZAMAN- In recent months, as I have been observing new strategies from various companies and institutions, they give me hope and optimism for the trade and investment dimension of US-Turkish relations.
I had the chance to interact with three small business delegations from the Istanbul Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (ISIAD), the Eurasian Businessmen’s Association (AVIAD) and the Istanbul Productivity Businessmen’s Association (IVIAD), three Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) member business associations from Istanbul, in the past month.
Observing their first impressions of the market, learning their strengths when they see a product similar to ones they produce and showing them the potential we witness here every day were all fascinating.
Suvari designs, produces and sells menswear not only for the Turkish market but also for six other countries in the region. They started in 1997, and today they have more than a hundred retail stores in Turkey and in the region. One of the company representatives in the delegation took every chance to see the stores in their sector and tried to figure out what chance they might have in this market. Through the end of a weeklong trip, he was confidently detailing their plans to bring their retail store chain to the US. It is going to be in their five-year strategic plan. And the same day we were reading good news from the same company. They signed a distributorship agreement with an American company for their innovative belts, which do not activate security systems in airports. A total of 200,000-300,000 belts will be sold in US markets in 2011. Their aim is to put an end to the airport hassles of frequent flyers. Not a bad start.
The US is a big market, with 300 million wealthy consumers. The size of the US market discourages small businesses in their first step. They see this economy as the competition arena of large-scale companies and innovators. There is truth behind that, but this does not mean there is no room for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in this highly competitive market. Suvari is a good counter example to this argument. And I can assure you, it is not the only one.
I had the opportunity to address the participants of Connecta 2010, organized by the California Turkish American Chamber of Commerce (CATA Chamber) last May. The intent was to bring together Turkish and American companies and search for new opportunities to do business together. The young and entrepreneurial president of CATA Chamber, Remzi Oten, gave a very humble speech to 300 participants and tried to convince them that this is doable. Later, I learnt a little about his company, Sena Cases. You can find his made-in-Turkey, genuine leather products for iPhones, iPads and iPods not only in Apple Stores but in many other retail stores in the US as well. He worked long years to be admitted into those retailers, but he is running a successful company today and is also leading Turkish-American businesses in the region. He tried to find a producer for the same products in China, but Chinese companies could not manage to deliver the same quality products for a cheaper price.
These are not the only examples, of course. There are many other successful SMEs operating in the US and improving the image of Turkish products in this market.
Istikbal Furniture, for example, sells their products at 1,000 retail points in the US. With their new project, Turkish Mall, they are looking forward to bringing Turkish brands together in one mall and increasing awareness of them in the market. Sarar in menswear and Güllüoglu baklava have also successfully begun to penetrate the US market, and they are looking forward to expanding their branches everywhere. Sarkuysan has promising business in their own field. Mavi Jeans and LittleBig are known brands for many consumers in the US. Graniser Seramik with their new marketing strategy is growing fast in the tile business. Of course, we are proud to see the Ford Connect on US highways and are looking forward to riding in Karsan taxis when we visit New York. These are not the only ones. There are many entrepreneurs that we haven’t mentioned here.
These are minor steps, of course, and we have to increase the number of companies and their volume to say we are truly successful. This takes time and energy and also requires a competitive business strategy developed through a public-private partnership.