Thomson Reuters’s figure on Turkey’s spending on Islamic clothing is wrong

Last week, I wrote about the “Global Islam Economy” report by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, prepared with contributions from DinarStandard. 

According to this report, the world’s most popular e-commerce site in Islam fashion was Turkey-based Modanisa, visited by 4.5 million people monthly. 

There is no objection to this. 

However, the figure about the money spent on Islamic clothing Modanisa had told me, $39.3 billion, created question marks in people who know the retail sector well. 

This figure was questionable because according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), money spent on textiles in the country was all together $27 billion. When I asked Thomson Reuters how this figure was reached, interesting data came out.  

It seems that, DinarStandard, which contributed the Turkey data to the report, calculated everything as “Islam clothing spending” in Turkey for all clothing, from beachwear to stockings, from shoes to a Vakko brand shirt. 

Meanwhile, by this opportunity, we have learned that there could also be “Islamic” shoe wear. 

As a result, the analysts of DinarStandard preparing the 2014-2015 Global Islam Economy report put all textile and shoe spending in Turkey in 2013 in the same basket. 

Why? 

They assumed that, since Turkey is a Muslim country, all of the 75 million living in Turkey, children and all, would be wearing “Islamic clothing.”

What other reason could there be that they put Turkey at the top of the list of the “Top Muslim Clothing Consumption Markets” with $39.3 billion spending? 

Please note that this report was released in Turin, Italy, during the Global Islam Economy Summit, at the “Islam Clothing Forum.”

Turin Municiplaity Economic Development Director Gianmarco Montanari announced Turkey topped the money spent on Islamic clothing with $39.3 billion. 

In an international meeting, because of a Thomson Reuters report that contained distorted figures, there was a wrong perception about Turkey.

Modanisa founder Kerim Türe said the figure in question also sounded too big for him. Other officials and experts said Islamic clothing expenditures in Turkey would not exceed $4 or 5 billion. 

On the other hand, we see other exaggerated figures also in “halal” food consumption. 

On the list “Top Muslim Food Consumption Market by Size” Turkey is on the top with a potential of $168 billion.

Even if you ask a person on the street who has little knowledge of the economy, a spending on halal food of $168 billion would be quite a shock. 

I guess it is everybody’s right, those who live on this country, to expect a respectable institution like Thomson Reuters to correct this report which does not contain the truth about Turkey. 

Meanwhile, a small note to my readers: I will take a short break from my column because I will be on annual leave.