One of the pioneers of fast fashion, the brand Uterqüe, which was created with great hopes by Spanish Group Inditex in 2008 and offered a new ecole mentioned as 'Zaranism' in the world, could not operate in Turkish market. In 2010, the brand, which created the slogan 'Democratised luxury', opened two stores in Akmerkez and Nişantaşı in Turkish market, but it could last three years because of intense competition.
Uterqüe having 90 stores in 18 countries did not succeed in two countries. One of them is Egypt where the civil unrest broke out. And the other country is Turkey. Turkey is considered as a challenging and unique market where global actors and local brands compete ruthlessly each other.
Inditex, which is on a par with Zara, Bershka, PullandBear, Stradivarius, MassimoDutti, Oysho and is often criticised for exacerbating competition, could not achieve success with its brand representing the accessible luxury, Uterqüe.
Uterqüe Falls behind Russia and Mexico
When the brand Uterqüe was created, such developing countries as Mexico, Russia and Turkey were chosen as target markets. CEO of Uterqüe, Costas Antimissaris had simultaneously started their operations in Turkey and Russia and he had said that they had expected the same performance from Turkey as Russia and Mexico. The brand could not make progress in Turkey while it reached eight stores in Russia and nine stores in Mexico. CEO of Uterqüe, Costasantimissaris had said: '' Istanbul is a large city. It is possible to open more stores, but we can't change our standard approach to grow faster.''.
Unaccessible Luxury Is Wanted
Turkish consumers, who want luxury, prefer the brands having a reputation around the world rather than a brand like Uterqüe which was established three-five years ago. On the other hand, Uterqüe failed to show the same performance of Michael Kors or Tory Burch which are the brands in the accessible luxury category.
A Strong Position in Spain
In July 2008, opening simultaneously five stores in Spain, Uterqüe has reached 35 stores in its homeland today. Following Spanish market, Mexico, Russia and Portugal are the biggest markets for Uterqüe It could open no more than 2-3 stores in Europe, Middle East and Latin American countries. It has not entered in the U.S. market yet. Inditdex is one of the world's largest retailers with a turnover of 14 billion Euros.
Promod Had Left As Well
Promod, which was brought to Turkey by Azade Group last year, could remain in Turkish market for 1,5 years. The brand, which was aiming to reach 22 stores in Turkey for 5 years, had opened a store in Nişantaşı and it had aimed to open other stores in Izmir, Bursa, Ankara, Gaziantep, Antalya, Samsun from 2013.
The roots of Promod, which closed its Nişantaşı store in autumn, dates back to 1975. Promod has about 1,000 stores in more than 50 countries. Although Turkey appears attractive and draws many new actors from foreign countries, it is a challenging market. Best Buy, Electro World are electronics retailers who recently left the Turkish market. In the clothing retail, the brands, which tried to achieve success several times but failed every time in Turkish market, are more common.