World’s most popular Muslim fashion e-commerce website in Turkey

Recently it was revealed that Turkey was the leader in the Muslim clothing market, with an annual $39.3 billion in spending. United Arab Emirates came second with $22.5 billion and Indonesia third with $18.8 billion. Iran is fourth with $17.1 billion and Saudi Arabia fifth with $16 billion.

I remembered the conversation I had with Hasan Aslanoba, the person who invests the most in startup companies in Turkey. He had told me that among the startup companies he invested in was Modanisa.com, the fastest growing e-commerce site on Muslim fashion. 

The founding partner of Modasina, Kerim Türe, referred to the report titled, “State of Global Islamic Economy 2014-2015,” by Thomson Reuters, with DinarStandard’s contribution. According to the report, the clothes and shoe expenditures of the global Muslim consumer increased 11.9 percent in 2013, reaching $266 billion. The most important factor behind this growth is social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and e-commerce. Purchases through e-commerce have reached $4.8 billion in 2013. 

Turkey’s role is significant at this stage. 

According to the report, Turkey is leading, with the Muslim consumer spending $474 million through e-commerce. After Turkey comes UAE with $428 million and the U.S. comes third with $422 million. 

The highest number of e-commerce websites marketing Muslim fashion is in Turkey. While Modanisa is leading the market, there are three more internet sites.

After Turkey, it is Indonesia, which has three e-commerce sites marketing Muslim wear. 

According to the report, the Muslim clothing market will reach $484 billion in 2019 and will constitute 14.4 percent of global spending. 

The market is so big that we see non-Muslim brands slowly stepping into it. 

For instance Dona Karan (DKNY) presented a special Ramadan collection in its 2014 summer season.    

Modanisa is visited by 300,000 people a day; 45 percent of its sales are abroad in 57 countries. This year, it plans to sell more than 2 million products. The Thomson Reuters report has defined Modanisa as “world’s most popular e-commerce site.”

I consulted with some experts about the consumer expenditure figures revealed by the report. Accordingly, $39.3 billion of expenditures were excessive, as the entire Turkish market for clothing stands at $27 billion. 

Although the figures may be controversial, it is indeed interesting that Turkey, which is secular according to its constitution, has become the champion in Muslim fashion spending, even surpassing Iran, which is an Islamic republic. 

However, there is another dimension, which Professor Tayfun Atay has revealed in his article named, “Is it Islamic consumption or consumption of Islam?”  

According to Professor Atay, “the world today has brought Islam to beyond Islamism, to Post-Islamism.”

The sharpest deviation of Post-Islamism from Islamism is that it regards capitalism “halal,” whereas Islamism regards as “haram.”

How else would you be able to explain a market of $266 billion?