Amazon are showing interest in Turkish shoes, whose exports, in the meantime, have been going up thanks to Russia: “We provided Amazon with a list of local manufacturers, 40 in total; they actually meet their requests, that is why Amazon are going to meet these companies”, said Süleyman Gürsoy, while talking to the Daily Sabah. Gürsoy, who is a member in the board of directors of TASD, the Turkish footwear manufacturers association, commented about the meeting between the US e-commerce giant and some Turkish entrepreneurs. More than likely, such strategy aims to grab some articles made in Turkey ahead of the launch of Amazon.com.tr, a localized website version, dedicated to Turkish consumers. In the meantime, Amazon are going to open a store and an office in Turkey. While waiting for Bezos moves, Turkey’s footwear enjoys export trend. Gürsoy himself remarked that in the first four months of 2018 Turkey’s footwear exports increased by 24,9% compared to 2017 same period. For the records, in the same period, exports towards Russia, which are currently worth 16,2% of overseas sales, went up by 167%, therefore moving from 22,3 up to 59,8 million dollars. Iraq, Russia and Germany are the most important business markets for Turkey’s exports, as they are worth, on the whole, 80% of export incomes. “In 2018 we aim to reach one billion exports; we need to expand our manufacturing though”, pointed out Gürsoy: “In China, Indonesia and Cambodia each plant can produce up to 150,000 pairs of shoes a day; in contrast, in Turkey no factory has such manufacturing capacity”. In Turkey, they currently manufacture 380 to 400 million pairs of shoes a year, half of which for the domestic market and half for exports abroad.
Amazon to think about Turkish e-stores and, most of all, shoe manufacturing. Meanwhile, Turkey’s footwear exports pick up again
