Balance of payment with international giants not even receiving the goods they ordered DeFacto came to the rescue of the ready-to-wear suppliers. DeFacto is giving life water to the textile industry left by foreign fashion giants with 500 million lira of bankruptcy. DeFacto CEO İhsan Ateş said, "We will pay 400 million liras, which is the cost of approximately 19 million pieces of products we had produced for the summer season, within a month. We will also order 500 million liras for the 2020-2021 winter season. In total, we will give the supplier a breathing space with 900 million liras."
The Covid-19 outbreak, which has affected the world, has also negatively affected the economies of the countries, and ready-to-wear clothing suppliers were among those who suffered the most in Turkey. When global brands stopped buying their products off the counter using the outbreak as an excuse, many stalls started to experience the danger of stopping. Dozens of suppliers, large and small, which employ one million people and provide livelihood for 4 million people, were left alone with the products they produce for international giants. For this reason, suppliers' payment balances have deteriorated and looms have come to a standstill. DeFacto was the first company to put its hand under the stone to prevent the system from stopping and to keep the looms running. DeFacto CEO İhsan Ateş said in a statement: "As Turkey's domestic and national brand, we took responsibility and took action to give breathing space to the suppliers whose payment balance was disrupted due to the orders left in their hands. We will pay 400 million liras, which is the cost of approximately 19 million pieces of products we had produced for the summer season, within a month. We will also place an order of 500 million liras for the 2020-2021 winter season. Thus, we decided to be a lifeline by providing 900 million TL resources to more than 500 suppliers."
"WE MOBILIZED OUR RESOURCES"
İhsan Ateş, CEO of DeFacto, said that humanity is going through a difficult period and that negative effects are naturally seen in Turkey. Underlining that there were order cancelations in the sector due to the pandemic, Ateş said: "Turkey has a very important market in the ready-to-wear sector. However, the Covid-19 outbreak left ready-to-wear suppliers in a difficult situation and the stalls came to a standstill. As a local and national brand, we decided to take matters into our own hands. In this process, our government has implemented the economic support package, but as a sector, we need to be in solidarity. As a global brand born from these lands, we mobilized all our means to share the power we have as a global brand for these lands so that 'the stalls do not stop'."
"TO BE PAID WITHIN A MONTH"
İhsan Ateş explained their decision as follows: "The stoppage of looms in the supply sector has a negative impact on the textile sector, which employs 1 million people and is the livelihood of 4 million people. At this point, as DeFacto, we decided to make the payment for the spring-summer collection we ordered within a month. In other words, we will pay 400 million TL for the 19 million products we had produced. We also decided to order 500 million TL for the winter collection. Thus, we will have provided 900 million TL to more than 500 suppliers by the end of this month. This amount will help them both breathe and plan for the future, in a way, it will serve as a lifeline."
"WE ARE LIKE FLESH AND BLOOD"
Ateş said, 'The pandemic will end and people will go out on the streets. We must be prepared for that period together. "The most important strategic issue for us to realize our future goals is the sustainability of our suppliers. Demand is decreasing, production is falling, but our production benches must be working. At this point, keeping 900 million TL in the safe and staying liquid may seem more accurate for financiers, but suppliers and brands are like flesh and nail. It is not possible for one to survive without the other. We retailers will organize campaigns to bring shopping back to its previous level. As shopping returns to its normal level, our producers will reach their old capacities."
"WE ARE ALSO A GLOBAL COMPANY, WE DID NOT CANCEL PRODUCED AND CUT PRODUCTS"
Reaching over 500 stores and 14 thousand employees in 30 countries, DeFacto did not cancel the products that it had its suppliers abroad produce and cut. DeFacto CEO Ateş said, "We currently have more than 500 stores in 30 countries including Turkey, Oman, TRNC, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Jordan, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Palestine, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Dagestan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Ukraine and Romania. At this point, some of our productions take place abroad. However, during this period, we did not cancel cut products for both domestic and international markets, citing the Covid-19 outbreak as an excuse."
'WHITE SUPPORT' CONTINUES, MASK DELIVERY BEGINS
DeFacto also supported the "We Are Enough for Us, Turkey" campaign with 1 million masks. DeFacto started to deliver 1 million anti-bacterial masks produced in accordance with international standards to the Ministry of Health free of charge. The masks will be distributed to citizens between the ages of 20-65 in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. DeFacto also continues to distribute clothing sets to hospitals to meet the daily needs of healthcare workers. In this context, 3 thousand products have been sent to hospitals in Istanbul so far. The product sets are delivered to more than 500 healthcare workers throughout Istanbul every day. DeFacto CEO İhsan Ateş answered questions about the agenda by connecting live to the Focus program presented by Güzem Yılmaz Ertem at Bloomberg HT.
"WE AIM TO BE A ROLE MODEL FOR GLOBAL BRANDS"
Stating that global brands and local brands stopped their product purchases with the closure of stores all over the world, Ateş said, "Due to the uncertainty, suppliers and manufacturers are in a very difficult situation right now. They are waiting for a solution from the companies. They expect them to clarify when they will buy these products and under what conditions. With the payments to be received, they will pay their suppliers and pay salaries to their employees. Some global brands offer to buy these products but with high discounts, some say I will not buy them at all, you develop a solution yourself, or I will buy them next year, which is not in line with the stance of global brands. There is a serious panic mood in global brands and retailers."
İhsan Ateş continued his words as follows, "As DeFacto, we told our suppliers to buy approximately 19 million 400 million TL worth of products from you. We rented an extra warehouse for this. Maybe we will sell it next year because we don't know exactly what the course in retail will be. we do not know exactly. Therefore, there will be a cash inflow of around 400 million TL to the market within a month. Looms need to work, production needs to start. Capacities It dropped to around 10 percent. As of May, we will place an order of 500 million TL for the coming winter. In total, we aim to revitalize the market with an input of 900 million TL and to be a role model for global brands."
