Bringing a different perspective to the home textile sector in Turkey, Home Sweet Home leads to make Turkish own trend and implement innovations in life. Kadir Kalaycioglu, Chairman of the Board of Home Sweet Home replied our questions about their company
and their activities. Full text of the interview follows:
Could you inform us about the history of your company?
Found in 1998 in Istanbul, Home Sweet Home aims to bring a different perspective to build our own trend and fashion for the Turkish home textile industry. We have gained an important point with stores opened in the home textiles industry at home and abroad. We opened our first store in 1998, with the name of Home Sweet Home in Bakirkoy, Istanbul. Then we open our stores in shopping centers in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Kayseri, and Turkey’s strategic points.
We have exported to about thirty countries since 2003. Some of Home Sweet Home brand concept stores in abroad belong to us and some operate as our franchise. The first overseas store opened in Dubai and we continue our investments in Arabian Peninsula. In addition, we had a partnership to take our brand as well as other brands to these countries and invest in the retail industry. We already have eleven stores in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. We want to promote relations with many countries of region such as Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain countries through organization based in Saudi Arabia.
Middle East market is an attractive region for Turkey with large potential in terms of consumption. We expand our geographical presence from Turkic Republics to North Africa, from the Balkans to Canada as well as the Middle East. These regions are listed as the following five main categories: Middle East, North Africa, Turkic Republics, Russia and other states that left Russia such as Belarus, Ukraine and Europe. Today we have 18
stores in Turkey and 11 corner stores abroad in order to decorate your home according to your taste.
What is your production capacity and product range?
Well located in an area of 5,000 square meters, our production facility has sewing, ironing, packaging and quality control departments in Florya, Istanbul with our
General Directorate. Approximately 150 employees work in our facility. Our products can be classified as following five categories: Bedroom sets (bed linen, linen, blanket, pique etc.), Bathroom sets (towels, bathrobes, mats, etc.), Accessories sets (frame, vases, boxes, flowers, etc.) and decorative glassware, Deco group (drapery and upholstery fabrics), Table sets.
We aim to concentrate on making new investments as well as the products of daily use. Since it is difficult to determine the number or volume of production capacity, we can say in a nutshell: ‘We are one of the largest companies producing such a diversity boutique In Turkey.
However, we produce our brand through our manufacturer partners including Turkey with external supply operations and even we transit directly them to our export markets.’
Could you share us your current export markets and your target markets?
A significant portion of the current export markets to include the Middle East and Russia. But at the same time, we have expansion in the Turkic Republics, Libya, Tunisia, North Africa and the Balkans. In the coming period, we will open our stores in some countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon. We plan to open stores in countries such as Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain and countries we do wholesale as soon as possible through the corner stores. Although we have important collaborations with the countries of the region such as Iraq, Syria and Iran in the past, we stand by for the present conjuncture.
What is your customer satisfaction policy?
Our goal is to follow the innovations in the sector, to produce tailor-made solutions for different needs, and to make more value. Of course, we consider our customers for the most important factor. We introduce a new perspective to the home textile industry in Turkey, to make our own fashion, to become a pioneering company that realizes and materializes innovation. We aim to make sure that Home Sweet Home trademark is well
known at home and abroad, andis a reliable global brand hat puts forth its value through its customer satisfaction conception and is memorable in minds and in hearts.
What are your targets for year 2013?
We’ve partnered with franchise stores in the Middle East since the beginning of 2013 and our aim to do it further. There are four stores in the opening stage in Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia and Lebanon. We desire to reach a larger audience in many countries in Europe. Also we develop a leaner line as well as dowry and the more classical line. Decorating with more contemporary accessories, we cover different themes for the products, bringing together the different product groups; we aim to bring a total solution to housewives
