Top local brands lack international visibility

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Muhterem İlgüner, managing director of Brand Finance Turkey, says Turkey still does not have enough global brands. Company photo

Creating valuable global brands to increase competitiveness is still lacking in Turkey despite recent improvements, according to the local head of international institution specialized in brand valuation and intangible assets.

“The total brand value of the top one hundred Turkish firms is almost equal to Wal-mart,” managing director of Brand Finance Turkey, Muhterem İlgüner told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview.

The country’s top 100 brands rose by $10 billion to $33 billion in the last five years, İlgüner said. “But we still do not have many global brands in international markets.”

The total for the top 100 Turkish firms still remains lower than technology brand IBM’s brand value, which ranks as the fourth most valuable in the world at $36 billion, according to a survey by Brand Finance.

Türk Telekom has been valued as Turkey’s most valuable brand worth $2.39 billion, growing an impressive $697 million since 2010. Turkcell, the country’s leading mobile operator takes third place with a value of $1.89 billion.

The Turkish banking industry also performed well with four banks ranking in the top ten brands. İşbank is ranked the second most valuable brand in Turkey with a value of $2.28 billion.

Other lenders in the top ten include Akbank, Garanti and Yapı Kredi. However, İlguner believes local lenders are landlocked with no further indications of growth outside of the country.

Indication tags for exports
“Turkish bank brands are not known outside of the country as they do not have many branches abroad,” he said, adding that the domestic banking sector is about miss a great opportunity by not penetrating the Arab countries. “Turkey’s relations with the Arab world are warmer today and we should take this chance, focusing more on Islamic banking,” he said.

Strictly controlled export products can be awarded with the geographical indication tag, which would make it to a trustworthy brand in international markets, he said. “Rakı is known as the national alcoholic drink of Turks, but we still could not market it to foreigners and make it a favorite drink of people other than Turks.”