The clothing industry in Turkey is one of the locomotive sectors for the country. The definition of clothing that is produced in series and according to specific criteria. In the clothing sector, knitted and non-knitted products generally traded. These also expressed in terms of the product group and variety, such as person and gender.
The clothing industry in Turkey is a sector that started to develop further with the regulation and various supports related to exports in the 1980s. As a result, our country has become one of the important ready-made clothing centres globally with the development of export and trade. In our country, cotton products generally used in the clothing industry. In addition, cotton, wool, yarn and fabric, which the industry needs, mostly supplied from within the country.
Turkey followed changes and developments in the clothing industry in the world. Although most of the companies operating in Turkey are small and medium-sized, there are approximately 500 thousand employees in the sector.
Reasons for Clothing Industry in Turkey Preference
The clothing industry plays an essential role in countries’ economy for reasons such as added value, export revenues, and interest in fashion in the world. The clothing industry in Turkey has gained significant importance with the private sector investments in recent years. This industry, which requires substantial monetary investments for our country, is essential to meet people’s needs and in terms of export opportunities. Production costs in our country are low. But the product quality is high. For this reason, it has increased the competitiveness of the Turkish clothing industry in the international market.
It is possible to explain the export boom in our country for the following reasons:
- Cotton production is very high.
- Factories producing cotton yarn established in the seventies in our country have gained a significant advantage.
- The clothing sector is based on labour, and Turkey is a country rich in terms of labour-based workforce.
- The clothing industry does not need much capital.
- Our country is geographically close to buyer markets.
Export of Clothing Industry in Turkey
Ready-made clothing exports, which were around 11.5 billion dollars in 2005 and 2006, increased by 15.6% in 2007. However, in 2008 and 2009, there was a pause in foreign trade due to the global economic crisis. In 2010, the sector’s exports increased by 10.3%. And what’s more, it amounted to 12.4 billion dollars. In 2011 and 2012, an increase of 9.4% and 2.5% was achieved, respectively. Then, in 2013, ready-made clothing exports amounted to 15 billion dollars, with a rise of 8.1%. In 2014, our sector exports increased by 8.7% compared to the previous year. In the same year, it reached its highest level with 16.3 billion dollars. After 2019, the increasing trend in our ready-made clothing exports continued, increasing by 1.5% compared to the previous year. As a result, the export amount in 2019 is 15.5 billion dollars. has taken place.
Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade
Export Countries
Among the countries with which Turkey cooperates the most are countries such as Germany, England, Spain, France, Italy and Poland. For example, while exports with Germany vary, clothing items are included in the main groups. Britain, one of Turkey’s most important trading partners, is in second place on the list. The share of Italy, one of Turkey’s other crucial foreign trade partners, in our exports with the weaving and textile products sent is 4.93%. The Polish economy, where our ready-made clothing exports have increased rapidly in the last period, grew by 3.1% on an annual basis in the second quarter of 2016, while it grew by 2.2% in the third quarter of the year. It is considered that these positive developments have a positive effect on our sectoral exports to Poland.
The clothing industry in Turkey is the world’s 6th largest apparel exporter. In textile and ready-made clothing exports to EU countries, our country ranks second after China. Manufacturers of leading European brands are also in Turkey. For this reason, the clothing industry in Turkey deserves its place in the world ranking. This ranking will improve as local ready-made clothing companies create their brands and make their names known in the international market. There is no obstacle in Turkey to become a world giant in textile by destroying the supplier perception.
Brands of Clothing Industry in Turkey
LC Waikiki, which started its brand journey in France in 1988, has been continuing since 1997. Today, it offers quality products at affordable prices in 1004 stores in 47 countries with the philosophy of “Everyone has the right to dress well”. As a result, LC Waikiki aims to be one of the three most successful fashion retailers in Europe by 2023.
It operates in 486 stores, 193 of which are abroad, more than 293 in Turkey, and more than 800 sales points worldwide. Koton aims to be a fast-fashion brand with the wealthiest and most admired collections in 5 continents by 2023. Creative and innovative, customer and technology-oriented. Koton combines seasonal trends with original designs and offers them for sale at attractive prices at convenient locations.
Defacto is one of the parts of the clothing industry in Turkey. It operates in the field of clothing retailing. Aiming to produce quality and affordable products, DeFacto is seen as one of the top 3 companies in its sector in Turkey. It has the vision of becoming a world brand.
