Turkey's Ziylan Group buys Italian shoemaker

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Ziylan Group Chair Ziylan says Lumberjack purchase puts Ziylan in a new league. Hürriyet photo

Turkey’s Ziylan Group has purchased Italian brand Lumberjack, aiming to enter a new league in the shoe business.

“Italy is the heart of the global shoe sector. This is going to be the first step in carrying Ziylan Group into the global shoe league,” Ziylan Group Chair Mehmet Ziylan told daily Hürriyet.

The company is also interested in acquiring other global shoe labels, and is currently “flirting” with a brand that has 150 stores in Europe, Ziylan said. The Ziylan Group is interested also in acquiring a women’s clothing label.

Lumberjack to be managed from Italy

Since the government announced its new incentive scheme, the Ziylan Group has been considering producing Lumberjack shoes in Turkey’s 6th organized industrial zone, but that they would ultimately continue producing Lumberjack anywhere wherever in the world is most feasible, Ziyan said
The Lumberjack brand, however, will still be managed from Italy. “Only Italian managers can know the Italian market, its dynamics and Italian consumers. That’s why we asked the current Lumberjack management if they would like to continue with us and they accepted,” Ziylan said.