Arıkan saat ve OPTİK
Always Moving Forward
With the Silmo Istanbul, Turkey became a powerful supplier for its geography. For seeing the latest trends in the industry, getting to know the sub-sectors that support the industry and finding new customers, Silmo Istanbul is the right address.
You have several companies and activities under one roof. Which groups do you work with and when did your path cross with the optics industry?
Thank you for your interest. Our company started its activities in Tahtakale in 1985 with the watch trade. After working only in the watch industry for many years, we entered the eyewear industry with the production and sale of licensed children’s eyeglasses in 2005. Then we obtained the production and sales licenses of the world-famous sports brand Slazenger and the fashion brand Lee Cooper, and expanded our eyewear portfolio with our own brands Belmond and Quantum. We have currently reached a considerable size in the market with our four brands. We took our first step in the retail sector in 2013, and we continue to grow steadily since our incorporation of the Konyalı Saat store chain in 2019.
It is a very rational approach to work in both the optics and watch sectors. What are the differences of the two sectors and what do the companies contribute to each other?
Since both product groups fall into the accessory category, our activities have always supported and contributed to one another. Our operating in two sectors has also always had a positive impact on international brands for which we have obtained the license rights. Additionally, since the brand investments we make support both product groups, their returns are higher than in a single category. They are detailed industries with their own dynamics, requiring expertise in two categories, although they have similarities. That is why we manage our business with different teams specialized in their own fields. Although sunglasses are similar to a watch in terms of being an accessory, optical glasses are a very different product group as they are health products, sold in specialized optical stores and have different regulations.
Let’s talk a bit about brands. With which brands do you operate in the optics industry and how do you create the collections of these brands?
We have 4 different eyewear brands that appeal to different lifestyles, tastes and ages. Lee Cooper and Slazenger brands, for which we have the license rights, are prestigious brands with a history of more than 100 years, known worldwide. Quantum and Belmond are our own brands. While creating the collections of all of our brands, we take great care to ensure that the collection is suitable for its target audience, image and competition. We carry out a careful and meticulous work with our design, supply and product management team, each of whom is specialized in their own fields. We produce our collections with different suppliers located in the Far East, which stand out with their production quality, and we import them to Turkey.
Do you also produce in Turkey? What are your thoughts on the development of domestic production?
We do not currently do domestic production. In the recent years, our domestic producers have increased their quality and capacity considerably. We follow all of them closely and I congratulate them for their success. In the coming years, we may work with our domestic producers within our scope of needs.
Do you plan to invest in new brands, new projects or even new sectors?
At the moment, we are focusing on our existing sectors and brands. In these sectors, we are focused on increasing our domestic and international market share, making our work even better, and improving the quality of the service we provide to our business partners.
Your launch with the famous singer Teoman for the promotion of the Quantum brand made a lot of noise last year. Is your 2023 agreement still ongoing?
Our brand Quantum and Teoman suit each other very well. He liked Quantum glasses so much that he prefers our brand’s products also in his daily life, apart from advertising shoots. These communication efforts accelerated our sales. In 2023, we decided to continue our collaborative work with Teoman. We will continue our efforts to increase the awareness of our brand and the sales of our retailers with an enjoyable communication campaign.
In the recent years, the conditions of competition have become quite difficult. Which communication tools do you find more effective for marketing and sales?
The breakthroughs we made in the field of communication especially got a lot of attention this year. We can give the example of our Teoman X Quantum cooperation, which we talked about a little while ago. Digital, TV and outdoor advertisements were also very effective for our brands in the 2022 solar season. Digital and social media communication is indispensable in today’s conditions, as such our communication in these channels continues throughout the year. We also highly value our commercial marketing efforts for our retailers. Visual applications and promotional materials that will highlight our brands, especially in their stores, our retailer meeting where we explain our brands and present our new products, our participation in the organizations of cooperatives and Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair have all become the traditional elements of our retailer communication.
You were elected as the Chairman of the Opticians and Watchmaking Professional Committee in the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce elections held last year. We wholeheartedly congratulate and support you. What are the issues that you see as a problem in the sector that need to be fixed? What should we do or not do for the future of our industry?
First of all, I would like to thank all our industry stakeholders for their support to me and the committee members. Our domestic production companies and importing companies, such as ourselves, have different problems. As such, our aim is to address all the problems of the sector, to develop our sector with all stakeholders and to increase the competitiveness of our companies, especially in international markets. The biggest problem of importing companies is the additional taxes on imports, these taxes unfortunately increase our costs severely. Additional taxes make European brands much more advantageous in competition and make it very difficult for us to offer quality products to our citizens at reasonable prices. In the past days, we held separate meetings with importers and domestic producers, and we came to a joint decision to reduce the additional taxes to a level that would satisfy both the importers and producers. We conveyed this joint decision to the ITO management with a petition to be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce. I would also like to briefly mention other sector problems that we conveyed to the ITO and the Ministry of Trade. Tests applied at customs; TAREKS, reducing the 10% customs tax paid by exporters for spare parts is also our priority. In addition, organizing national participation under the roof of our chamber in Silmo and Mido Fairs, in which at least 30-35 domestic optical manufacturers participate individually, is another issue we are working on.
You will attend Mido Fair, which will be held between 4-6 February. This will be your first foreign fair experience. How did you decide to participate in a fair held abroad and what are your expectations? (You can add if you are going to also attend other fairs.)
First of all, I would like to state that we are very excited about our global adventure, which we will start with Mido Fair. We have been attending Mido Fair as visitors for many years to follow the trends and meet new manufacturers. We export to 60 countries in our watch business. It was time to combine the export success and experience we achieved in watches with our claim in the eyewear industry. This year, we will exhibit the collection of our Lee Cooper brand, for which we have obtained the license rights for only about 40 countries, at the Mido Fair, and our focus will be Lee Cooper. Our aim is to open our other brands to international markets in the coming years. This year, we will also continue to participate in Silmo Paris and, as with every year, Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair.
You have been participating as an exhibitor in Silmo Istanbul, which has been held since 2013. Can you evaluate the development of Silmo Istanbul and the sector in the last 10 years?
While Silmo Istanbul Fair was a local fair both in terms of visitors and exhibitors in the first years, it has reached the international fair category in recent years now. For the last few years, we have been hosting many visitors from both the Balkan countries and the Middle East at our stand. This is the most concrete proof that Turkey has become a powerful supplier for its geography. In addition, the experience of both participating companies and you as the organizer has increased in the last 10 years. Silmo Istanbul Optical Fair is an organization that has proven itself, one that gives a strong momentum to the sector. It is an indispensable organization for us to see the latest trends in the industry, to get to know the sub-sectors that support the industry, and to find new customers.
4 Your Eyes Optical Magazine will continue with “Digital Publication” as of 2023. Can we get your thoughts on this radical innovation?
As with everything else, the publishing industry is adapting to the times. I think it is a great advantage for subscribers to have access to the magazine digitally from anywhere. At the same time, reducing paper consumption is definitely an environmentally friendly approach. As Arıkan, we support this change made for these reasons. As in the past, we will continue to follow and take place in the magazine with our news and advertisements.
February 2023