Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) – Turkish companies are doing their level best to meet the expectations of their Belarusian business partners, Director of the Belarusian clothes making company Mark Formelle Andrei Serikov told BelTA.

The Belarusian company that produces clothes under the Mark Formelle brand has been cooperating with Turkish companies since almost its first days on the market (2009), purchasing Turkish raw material (knitted fabric). According to Andrei Serikov, the purchases have been steadily increasing. Today there are almost 30 Turkish organizations are among the partners of the national producer.

“Monthly purchases of the Turkish raw material have soared 20 times over six years from $50,000 to $1 million. We would not have bought the unsatisfactory product and, hence, would not have reached such a level of cooperation. The Turkish raw material accounts for a considerable part in our ready-made goods,” said Andrei Serikov.

Mark Formelle is well-known on the Turkish market. Over the years of its operation, the company has bought necessary raw material from different countries, but finally gave its preference to partners from Turkey, the director of the company said.

“They are very fast in meeting our expectations. A relatively short logistics shoulder is also an important factor in our cooperation. Turkey is one of the world’s few leaders in textile industry. The countries of Southeast Asia can be a possible alternative. This route, however, is less promising for us due to a long distance,” Andrei Serikov said.

Turkey’s textile and light companies are mostly private-held. “Our relations with them have been developing rapidly. The partners seek to learn something new and advance technologically, which is beneficial for both sides,” Andrei Serikov said.

Andrei Serikov believes that the experience of Turkish companies is worth emulating in every possible way. They have shown tremendous growth over the last 20 years. “Various aspects of their work such as export promotion, development of overseas retail networks merit attention. Regardless of the language barrier, Turkish companies are active in promoting export to other markets. They advance their products and achieve success,” he said.

Mark Formelle operates 7 garment factories located mainly in the towns of Minsk Oblast: Borisov, Zhodino, Zaslavl, Starye Dorogi, Slutsk, Uzda and also in Vitebsk. The company sells both domestically and internationally (Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine).