Türkiye’s economy may be going through turbulent times but Desa Deri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS of Istanbul are bucking trends. Their Corlu based tannery is working three eight-hour shifts to turn out almost ten million sq ft of finished leather per year, mainly lambskins, from raw and wet-blue.
Desa supply 250,000 garments/year to British retailer, Marks & Spencer, with an export value of £8.5 million (US$12.9 million) annually. The emphasis is on retail fashion chic – to the tune of 50,000 items in one style – in one fashion season!
Few in Türkiye have grasped the essence of global retailing the way Desa have, spending an above-average 2% on R&D.
‘Our business is not just about tanning leather or supplying finished garments’, chairman Melih Celet, explained. ‘It is about building up a profitable company in a steady upward curve.’
Along with normal market forces, Turkish firms need to contend with Türkiye’s chronically unfixable economy. But economies of scale and being a successful partner on a global scale have given Desa advantages over many other leather firms.
