Turkey is one of the largest textile producers in the world. The earthquakes that shook the south-east of the country and parts of Syria in February not only killed thousands of people, but also hit many local businesses hard. To understand the impact of the disaster on the Turkish textile industry, FashionUnited spoke to three affected producers at the Kingpins denim fair in Amsterdam.
“Our factories located in the earthquake area stopped producing from one moment to the next,” said Eren Pakyardim, sales assistant at Cotton Fabric. The Turkish company has been producing fabrics, including denim, satin and jacquard fabrics, for about 20 years. It was badly affected by the earthquakes, not only affecting the production facilities but also the employees, some of whom lost their lives tragically.
Textile company Iskur Denim addresses the difficulty of finding employees. “On the business side, the biggest problem caused by the earthquakes is a personnel one. After the earthquakes, it was very difficult to recruit workers,” says sales manager Levent Bozgeyik. “The machines were not damaged, nor were the factories [Anm. d. Red: sie befinden sich in Istanbul und waren nicht von den Erdbeben betroffen], but very few people can currently work. This is our biggest problem now. How are they supposed to think about work when they don’t have a roof over their heads? You have other problems. We don’t need to fix our machines, we need to bring more people back.”
Fashion brands’ response to the earthquakes
Although the earthquakes did not have the same impact on all companies, they resulted in a delay in production time for all three companies. Iskur Denim now takes a month to manufacture its fabrics, compared to just two weeks before.
The company works for luxury and premium brands, in particular Massimo Dutti. His clients have proven to be particularly understanding and patient, as Levent Bozgeyik explains: “They believe in us. Over the years we have built a strong relationship with them. Because of this, the earthquakes did not affect our contracts.”
Denim producer Cotton Fabric didn’t get the same support from its customers. “To be honest, apart from a single clothing group, the companies did not understand our situation and preferred to turn to other production facilities. We have a good relationship with this group, they were patient with us because we couldn’t work as fast as they are used to,” says Eren Pakyardim.
Işil Sena Candan, head of sales at Kilim Denim, confirms that brands have been more reluctant to work with the company. Founded in 1953, the company began producing denim in 1986 and fabric quickly became its expertise. The company works with many brands worldwide, such as G-Star, Diesel and Replay, but also Bonobo, Zadig & Voltaire and Sézane.
“After the earthquakes, the brands and clothing companies tried to get in touch with us. They told us that we had to lower our prices and that our competitors were cheaper than us,” says Candan. “Sometimes the brands try to lower our prices.”
Turkish manufacturing companies hit by economic crisis
Kilim Denim’s factories are located near Bulgaria, so the company was not directly affected by the earthquakes. The economic crisis in Turkey is causing the company more trouble than the earthquake.
On the other hand, rising commodity prices and expensive rents are threatening Turkish companies. “We’re trying to cut costs. We use cheaper companies for transport and chemical substances. Because of the increasing prices, we are forced to find new solutions and to redesign our system in order not to have to increase our prices,” says Candan. Kilim Denim offers so-called premium prices of between four and five euros per meter.
Cotton Fabric has experienced a period of growth since the earthquakes. However, the operation faces competition from foreign manufacturing companies, mainly from Bangladesh and Pakistan, which are far cheaper. Eren Pakyardim emphasizes how important it is for the company to double production capacity and reduce production times in the coming years.
The companies Iskur Denim and Kilim Denim speak of a stable situation. “There was no increase or loss of profits. Every month we try to achieve our goals, maintain relationships with our customers and not lose our contracts. It’s a difficult time for everyone, we’re not trying to grow, we’re trying to maintain our position,” said Işil Sena Candan of Kilim Denim. Iskur Denim’s Levent Bozgeyik sums up the Turkish denim industry’s struggle for survival: “Nowadays the denim market is rather marginal. Nobody makes a lot of money.”
This article was published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ