Local firms expand in China

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Yıldız Holding, which owns the Godiva chocolate brand, plans to increase the number of stores in China to 30 from the current 15. Hürriyet Photo

Turkish businesses from the textile to the luxury food sectors are moving into the fast-growing Chinese market while entertaining plans to expand in both the Asian giant and other new markets.

Hateks Hatay Tekstil, a leading Turkish textile company, has begun selling “Sensei la maison du coton” home-textile products in China in conjunction with its French subsidiary Siretex.

“We have complete faith that our home-textile products made from the best-quality threads will be liked by Chinese consumers. As a company, we plan to expand to other new markets in the coming years,” said Hateks Board Director Abud Abdo. Hateks held an initial public offering (IPO) in 2011.

In addition to Hateks, Yıldız Holding’s Belgian chocolatier, Godiva, is also planning to double the number of its stores in China. Godiva Chief Executive Officer Jim Goldman said the chocolate market in China was growing rapidly and that they planned to increase the number of Godiva stores there to 15 this year and 30 within three years. Currently, China only makes up 5 percent of Godiva’s annual turnover.

“That said, it’s the market that shows the fastest growth. Therefore, in four to five years, we can even increase our number of stores to 100,” he told daily Milliyet. Because Internet usage is very common in China, the company plans to deliver orders via the web as well, Goldman said.

“Chinese customers usually place more orders on special occasions. That’s why we are developing unique products for special occasions. In sum, they place a lot of importance on appearance and Godiva is a luxury brand,” said Goldman.

Goldman said Godiva had been able to post a 15 percent growth rate over the past two years.