Turkey is retail-industry model for Asia-Pacific countries

Retailers from Asia-Pacific countries believe that Turkey's experience in the industry can serve as a model for others trying to learn how to build a sustainable base for retail. The Asia Pacific Retail Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) held in Istanbul from Sept. 23-26 saw many delegations from all over the world looking to learn from Turkey's experience in the retail industry. Indonesian Retail Merchant Association Chairman Mr. Pudjianto said the growth and stability of Turkey's economy provided a good base for retail businesses to expand on. "Turkey has a growing economy and saw an increase in its GDP. The stability of its economy should be used by retailers to expand their product in this country," Pudjianto told Today's Zaman. "From the exhibition, I have been able to exchange different opinions and experiences from the Turkish retailers to be brought back to my country," he added. Pudjianto said that his association is trying to persuade retailers from Indonesia to cooperate with their Turkish counterparts as this will benefit both countries' economies. "We will try to introduce Indonesian products such as our handicraft and batik fabric to this region. We believe the strong purchasing power in Turkey will be beneficial to expand our own market," Pudjianto said. Guan Heng Tan, director of the Singapore-based International Council of Shopping Centers, said the immense size of the Turkish retail industry makes it a good platform for other retailers in the Asia-Pacific region to access global markets for their products. "The Turkish retail industry is very big as we see most of the products used by Turkish people are domestically produced. They could use their experiences in this sector to provide guidance to other retailers in the Asia-Pacific region," he said. "The retail business is not only about selling products to your customers, but you also need to learn how to retain the customers to stay with the products. The exhibition emphasized much on this principle as a core towards good retail services," the director added. "One thing that caught my eye is how Turkey's retail products did not focus on a specific gender. Many retailers in Asia-Pacific region targeted women as their primary consumer, leaving male consumers to turn to international products that are much more expensive," he explained. Noriham Abd Jalil, a branch manager of Parkson, one of the largest retail chains in Malaysia, said Turkey's retailers are full of ideas and experiences that can be used by Malaysian retailers to expand their market. "Turkey's experiences in this sector will be our guideline for us to achieve the same growth in the retail market on par with other developed countries," Jalil said. Istanbul is currently hosting the APRCE, which brings together more than 2,000 participants from 33 countries to talk about the future of the retail sector and discuss business opportunities that may set the stage for new cooperation.