I concluded my last month’s article by wishing for peace, tranquility, and well-being for our country and the world during the Eid. However, we were shaken as a country by the heinous attack with a bomb-laden vehicle in Gaziantep on the day of Eid, conflicts in Şemdinli, and the overturning of a civilian vehicle carrying soldiers in Uludere district of Şırnak. The events, such as the violence against the Muslim population in Arakan and the ongoing civil war and conflicts in Syria, added sorrow to our hearts and intensified our pain. In essence, we could not experience the holiday as it should be.
Despite the fact that the history of humanity has repeatedly taught us that violence, especially violence directed at civilians and even children, benefits no one, the deep sadness of not learning from the past occasionally leads us to despair about the future. Nevertheless, amidst all the despair and recklessness, our belief that goodness, peace, and justice will ultimately prevail remains infinite. Just as the cold pains of winter herald the arrival of spring, I hope these difficult times are a harbinger of the beautiful days we hope to see in the future.
Within the month, LASİAD received the Gold Medal at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in recognition of the support provided to the Turkish Red Crescent in the aid campaigns for Van and Somalia. I would like to share with you the honor and pride of receiving this gold medal on behalf of LASİAD and Laleli. In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude once again to all benevolent friends who supported these campaigns, both financially and spiritually, and sincerely wish that such generosity will continue to grow in the future.
In addition to all this, the point reached by our Laleli companies in the upcoming season, by following global trends, should be considered a great opportunity and luck for us. Of course, from now on, I believe we all agree that we should aim to become a center that produces fashion and trends. LASİAD is actively working to provide the necessary opportunities for cooperation to help our companies stand out in this regard. Our goal is for Laleli to produce at least 5 major brands with high global recognition in the short term and become a region that produces trends in the global fashion and textile market in every aspect.
If we can support our efforts innovatively, it will undoubtedly be our privilege. Moreover, the world has already entered a period where innovative products receive more attention, and the returns of these products are higher than standard products. It is not expected for us to stay outside of these structures and developments. Supporting our companies with a Research and Development center created in common with a pool initiative and collaboration, especially in terms of designers, implementers, and marketers, should be one of our future goals.
The most important lesson we have all learned from the past until today is undoubtedly that change and innovation will dominate the future, and success depends on not overlooking these two concepts. I hope that as Laleli, we will use these important domino pieces correctly, and I wish all our regional companies a beautiful month and a fruitful season with abundant profits.
Giyasettin Eyyüpkoca.
