Expecting 25% growth for 2022
Founded by three partners of French origin in 1988, LC Waikiki started its commercial life as a wholesale brand. With the separation of the two founding partners, LC Waikiki was passed to George Amouyal as the sole shareholder. Tema Tekstil, which is connected to Taha Group and is the producer as well as licensor of LC Waikiki in Turkey, bought the worldwide rights of the LC Waikiki brand in 1997. Ilker Hacioglu, International Retail DGM, LC Waikiki, spoke to Fibre2Fashion about the factors that have majorly contributed to the success of the brand, the expansion of its product portfolio and stores range, and growth expectations from the current fiscal.
Where is LC Waikiki placed in the international market today?
LC Waikiki now operates in 1138 Stores in 334 different cities in 52 countries in 4 continents. We are now 6th biggest retailer in Europe and our vision is to be one of the thre biggest retailer of Europe in 2021.
How successfully has LC Waikiki expanded its product portfolio over the years?
We keep on updating our product portfolio according to our customers’ needs every season. We are adding new product ranges to our collections which were not existing in previous years. For example: home, shoes, toys and technical devices. With the increase in product range, we are expanding our average store area. As on date, we have stores with 4000 sqm space.
Tell us about your marketing strategies. Is there any variation in your strategies keeping in mind the current pandemic situation?
The pandemic situation was unexpected for all retailers of the world. We can say we had hard times beginning of the pandemic. But later with fast perception, agile approach, and crisis management applications, we have made advancement in our processes, and we kept growing. Even in this period we have opened more than 100 stores. We have revised our marketing strategy according to changed lifestyle with the new normal.
What factors have majorly contributed to your success as a brand?
• Choosing right markets relevant to the brand’s value proposition
• Affordable price that we present to customers
• Following fashionable products constantly
• Following and adding fashion changes to our collections very fast in 52 countries that we are operating.
• And taking customers’ expectation on the first place while giving decision.
What is your retail presence like in Turkey and worldwide?
From Europe to Asia and Far East to Africa and South America, LC Waikiki is present in 79 different cities of Turkey with 534 stores and 604 stores worldwide.
How has social media helped in furthering business?
We try to use social media in every market efficiently. We have activated our social media accounts in every country we operate in. Those accounts are helpful for us to get in touch with customers on a one-to-one basis and learn from their expectations. At the same time, we do collaborations through social media constantly. We can say that we have a big impact with social media announcements and collaborations when we enter a new country.
How do you implement sustainability through your clothes?
Parallel to worldwide applications, we currently have LCW Green collection which includes recycled products--organic cotton products mostly for all groups from women to men, kids to baby. As LC Waikiki, we care about product safety and human health. So, we produce products with certificated materials. We have our own labs to do ecological tests on our products.
What percentage of your sales is through, brick & mortar, exclusive online store, and e-marketplaces?
85 per cent of our sales is through brick &mortar and 15 per cent is from online.
How does your supply chain network work? Which regions of the world are part of your supply chain?
We operate in 4 continents. Our main centre is Turkey but in case of a need we can have direct shipment from countries that we produce in. We use a mixed structure when sending our products to stores. Besides truck and sea shipments, if needed we use air shipment to fasten the replenishment of our best-selling products.
What are some of the innovative approaches that you employ to stay relevant in current times?
Both our customers and employees are guides to our business. We have built a system wherein our employees can share their ideas and suggestions. We examine those suggestions carefully and try to implement them in processes. We give awards for their motivation. Also, we do regular research, and collect customers’ expectations and suggestions to improve our business in countries we are operating in. We have a market research department that follows worldwide market changes. So, with their inputs we are able to implement new retail applications faster to our system.
Any plans to expand your current capacities or introduce new products in the near future?
In previous years we have added our home group to our collection range. Recently, we have introduced our lingerie brand LCW Dream to our customer. And we increased our store numbers as well. Currently we are expanding our shoe collection with LCW Steps. In our kids’ group--we are investing in non-textile products and toys very seriously.
Which are your major markets?
Including Turkey, we are market leader in 21 countries which are Turkish Rep of North Cyprus, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Kenya, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, and Montenegro.
What are your growth expectations from the company for the next two fiscals?
2020 was a hard year almost for all companies. During this tough period, we have succeeded to survive thanks to our strong financial situation. We have caught up with our pre-pandemic (2019) sales now. We are expecting 25 per cent growth for 2022.
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