Textile and fashion industry’s heart turned into a festival in Laleli. The 7th Laleli Fashion Shopping Festival, organized by LASIAD (Laleli Industrialists and Businessmen Association), started on August 6 and lasted until August 12.
The festival attracted 200 buyers from four countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Poland.
Laleli is sprinting towards a record-breaking $7 billion export milestone.
In his opening speech at the festival, Gıyasettin EYYÜPKOCA, the Chairman of LASİAD Board of Directors, stated that they had a very promising start to 2018. While Turkey’s total exports increased by 7.4% in the first six months, we achieved a remarkable 30% growth during the same period. We have surpassed $3.5 billion in exports from Laleli between January and June. With the synergy created by the business connections made during our festival, we aim to conclude 2018 with an export volume of around $7 billion.
40 Manufacturer Companies, 200+ Buyers, Thousands of B2B Meeting Opportunities.
Laleli, one of Istanbul’s distinguished shopping and fashion centers, concluded 2017 with a $5.8 billion export volume. Certainly, we can achieve much more. We are diligently working to harness the full potential of Laleli in the most efficient way to contribute more foreign exchange to our country. This year, during the festival, we will host over 200 buyers from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. When inviting our guests, we conducted a thorough selection process, maintaining the requirement for buyers to own at least 10 stores in their countries. Additionally, for the first time, we selected buyers from among the names with the highest trade among the companies participating in B2B meetings. Thousands of B2B meetings will take place between our 40 manufacturing companies and buyers. I wholeheartedly believe that these meetings, the main event of our festival, will result in approximately $10 million worth of commercial connections and the establishment of new export bridges.
In the first half of 2018, Our Trade Shows a 30% Increase
Gıyasettin Eyyüpkoca emphasized the vital importance of tourists from Russia and neighboring countries in Laleli’s trade. Highlighting the positive impact of the improvement in relations with Russia and the increase in the number of tourists on Laleli’s trade, Eyyüpkoca continued:
“We had a good start to 2018. While Turkey’s total exports increased by 7.4% in the first half of the year, we achieved a remarkable 30% growth during the same period. Between January and June, we have surpassed $3.5 billion in exports from Laleli. The current trend will continue in the coming months. With the synergy created by the connections made during our festival, we aim to conclude 2018 with an export volume of around $7 billion. Laleli reached its highest export of $6 billion in 2014. In 2018, we will break all-time records with $7 billion. Of course, $7 billion is not enough for us; we are working with all our might to surpass the $10 billion mark by 2023.”
Eyyüpkoca expressed his gratitude and presented plaques to the Ministry of Trade, Istanbul Apparel and Clothing Exporters’ Association (İHKİB), Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Fatih Municipality, and Garanti Bank for their full support of the Laleli Fashion Shopping Festival.
