Business

How did Turkiye enter the investment plans of the Chinese giant with a turnover of 10 billion dollars?

361 Degrees, a Chinese sports retail giant… Founded in 2003; It produces all textile product groups from active sports to daily wear, from basketball shoes to running shoes for babies, children and adults. The company, which is especially strong in sports shoes, is a worldwide supplier of sports equipment… It produces sports shoes for all world brands we know. The company has a consolidated turnover of over 10 billion dollars and operates in China and more than 30 countries with its 12 thousand stores. Having made an agreement with NBA players Aaron Gordon and Spencer Dinwiddie, the company produces special collections and presents them to basketball enthusiasts. 361 Degrees has recently focused on the Russian market. Because it is making plans to fill the market emptied by world giant competitors such as Nike and Adidas. It seems that the competition of Chinese and Turkish companies will intensify in the Russian market, which has been emptied by the war.

361 Degrees’ non-Chinese operations are managed from Amsterdam. The management of non-Chinese operations is entrusted to a Turk, Saygın Emeksiz. Emeksiz,who is a manager at strong retail brands such as Penti, Mudo, Colin’s, Puma and Lotto, attracted attention with his experience in foreign operations of Colin’s and received an offer from the Chinese company in 2020, when the pandemic was most intense. “I am the manager of a Chinese company with a Turkish passport. I have been abroad for 20 years for work. This job is a bit of a job of acquiring the environment and getting to know people. Over the years, I got to know a lot of people, head hunters got involved, and at the end of 2020, I found myself interviewing a Chinese company. I already had contact with China for 5-6 years. Our business meetings coincided with the pandemic period and we did most of them on zoom. I started my job at the end of 2020. Our company has a Chinese and non-Chinese structure. All overseas organizations outside of China are managed from Hong Kong. Our management office is in Amsterdam and I work from there,” he says.


It wants to destroy the perception of Chinese goods in Europe

I met Saygın Emeksiz, the General Manager of 361 Degrees International Ltd., through a message he sent for one of my columns. When I learned his story and plans, I thought that I should definitely write it. Saying that they meet with their customers on all continents, Saygın Emeksiz states that 8 thousand of 12 thousand stores provide service in China. He notes that they have around 600 sales points in Europe and adds: “We operate in nearly 30 countries around the world, apart from China. We have a premium running collection for Europe. We care about the European market and it is very important for us to break the perception of Chinese goods in Europe”.

Emeksiz added that the majority of 361 Degrees’ turnover of over 10 billion dollars comes from its production activities and said, “Our company is the world’s largest technology manufacturer in footwear. We manufacture for all the big brands you know,” he says.


He started to meet with a very large group in Turkiye.

I ask Saygın Emeksiz if the Chinese giant has plans for Turkiye . He emphasizes that Turkiye has an important place in his 5-year plans and continues: “After I took office, we made plans for 3, 5 and 10 years. There is also Turkiye in our 5-year plan. We are negotiating with a very large chain in Turkiye. We made preliminary interviews for the license. We will share our technology with them. They will produce for us in Turkiye. Thus, we will be advantageous in terms of costs and taxes. We will do the production together. Pieces will be huge. According to our plans, there are millions of pieces per year. It will be a great opportunity for us to manufacture in Turkiye. Because the prices have increased a lot and will increase even more. Not everyone will be able to buy Puma, Nike, Adidas anymore. There is a similar problem not only in Turkiye but also in the world. That’s why production in Turkiye is very important to us… Turkiye can become a good and attractive center in shoe production anyway.”

We produce textile products for Europe in Turkiye, the manufacturer has followed suit.

Saygın Emeksiz explains that they have textile products manufactured in Turkiye for the European market. The break in the supply chain around the world had a great impact on the shift of production to Turkiye. Emeksiz said, “Although it is more expensive than China, we have it manufactured in Turkiye because it is cheaper in terms of logistics. We can put the products we produce in Turkiye on the shelf in 30 days. The costs are too high. We have recently received 14 containers of goods from China, we paid 17 thousand Euros for each container. Before the pandemic, this figure was around 2 thousand-2,500. Moreover, it takes 45 days for the products to arrive from China,” he says, and conveys a development regarding production in Turkey as follows:

“We have just started to produce textile products in Turkiye. Due to the fluctuations in the exchange rates, manufacturers want 13 Euros for a 10 Euro product. Because nobody knows what will happen. Manufacturers don’t accept futures work either, the business has completely taken over.”

Image:thediplomat

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