Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 22, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Groupe SEB, the French household appliances giant, plans to open four new small household appliances shops in Turkey this year.
Cüneyt Yağcı, the firm’s managing director in Istanbul, said the new shops are a part of Groupe SEB’s expansion plan, which involves an investment of approximately 15 million Turkish Liras.
Groupe SEB first entered Turkey in 1993 and currently has 158 Tefal shops in the country, which contribute 35 percent to the firm’s local turnover.
"We opened two Home & Cook stores in Turkey in 2008. This year we have already opened five new Tefal shops and are planning to open four more," Yağcı told reporters yesterday in Istanbul.
Groupe SEB has a share of 18.1 per cent of small household appliances in Turkey. Its Tefal brand is the leading iron brand in Turkey, holding a market share of approximately 40 percent. Other brands SEB manufactures and sells in Turkey include Moulinex and Rowenta. The size of small household appliances market in Turkey is estimated to stand at 70 million euros.
Yağcı said the firm aims to grow its turnover to 203 million Turkish Liras in 2009, despite the current economic slowdown. In 2008 the firm’s turnover stood at 188 million Turkish Liras, a growth of 23 percent since 2007.
"Our target is to grow our business volume by 8 percent this year, which we will do by launching new products and opening new sales points, among others," Yağcı said.
The new products the firm has recently introduced to the Turkish market include Tefal Quick & Hot kettle, which boils water in three seconds and Tefal Autoclean iron, which automatically cleans its ironing surface. More new products are expected for later in the year.
Between November and December 2008, the sales turnover of Turkey’s small household appliances market declined 30.2 percent, in comparison with the same period in 2007.
On the other hand, over the first two months of the current year Groupe SEB’s market share in Turkey increased from 16 percent to 18.1 percent, according to Yağcı. "Hopefully this growth will continue. [É] We expect the situation to improve from the second half of 2009 on," he said.
"The main affect of the current crisis in Turkey is psychological. Furthermore, at present there is by and large a ’wait and see’ atmosphere among consumers. This means that when things start improving, the market will pick up at once. We are waiting for an improvement to start soon, probably starting with sales for Mothers’ Day," Yağcı said.