After years of robust growth within Turkish market

KUWAIT: Global Investment House (Global), a regional asset management and investment banking firm headquartered in Kuwait, with offices in major capital markets in the MENA region, announced yesterday that Yargici Konfeksiyon Ihracat ve Ticaret A S (Yargici), one of the leading women fashion retail brands in Turkey since 1978 which is owned and managed by the alternative asset management arm, Global Capital Management Ltd ("GCM"), has recently signed master franchise agreements with two key retailers in the GCC to expand in the Saudi and Kuwaiti markets.

The master franchise agreement signed with the Saudi retailer, Mosa Ibrahim Al-Kaltham & Sons Group, states opening three stores in the Kingdom in Jeddah and Dammam with the first two stores planned to open in March. The stores will feature women fashion including clothing, shoes, bags and accessories. Al-Kaltham Group, is one of the leading wholesalers and retailers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GCC. Formed over 50 years ago, Al-Kaltham sells goods primarily for the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, tableware, cloths and other textiles products.

The leading Kuwaiti real estate developer, Tamdeen Group, will open the first Yargici store in a new prestigious development during the first week of April, with plans for several more locations. Tamdeen Group, through its subsidiary 360 Style Co. operates brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Saint Laurent through joint ventures and franchise agreements, in Kuwait. The newly established subsidiary, Tamdeen General Trading, of which Yargici will be a part of, will be representing and operating a number of affordable luxury and fast fashion and accessory brands.

Ihsan Sancay, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yargici and Head of Private Equity Asset Management at Global commented, "The two franchise agreements represent key milestones in the expansion strategy of Yargici in the GCC which represents the largest international market for our products based on our online shopping and duty-free purchase history. We look forward to work closely with our partners in these markets to serve this very loyal clientele at their hometowns".

He added, "With an increasing share in Yargici's foreign customer portfolio, the GCC will always be a key driver in our strategic growth plans. As one of the most popular brands among Gulf customers, we plan to further transform this demand into a potential growth opportunity by expanding into other GCC markets".

Since acquiring 75 percent of Yargici in 2011, Global Capital Management Ltd has worked closely with the company to consolidate its brand position and offerings in Turkey and expand its business geographically and by product lines. During the past six years, Yargici successfully opened 32 new stores in Turkey and expanded in the European Union with 4 new stores opened in Germany in the cities of Hamburg, Berlin and Oberhausen. Yargici has increased its total number of stores from 20 stores with 2,817 sqm of retail space in 2011 to 56 stores with total retail space of 11,864 sqm at the end of 2017.

In addition to geographic expansion, Yargici successfully implemented new business verticals to its proven operating model. Besides shoes and bag, and accessories verticals, home works business line is brought into life to interconnect fashion and home accessories for enhanced customer experience. Home works collection brings light furniture, specialty accessories like handmade ceramics, wicker baskets, home textile, lighting and decorative objects together.

It is worth noting that Global's value add was not only strengthening Yargici's capital but also establishing corporate governance, perfecting retail mathematics of Yargici and improving the overall operational excellence.