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Interview: "Open to innovative products"cbi:///cms/243027
Marc Landau cbi:///cms/243029
Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of the German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Istanbul. cbi:///cms/243030
Since 1995, Marc Landau has been Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of the German-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DTR-IHK) in Istanbul. In our interview, Mr. Landau, who has degrees in law and oriental studies, speaks about Turkey’s economic perspectives and the changing retail environment. cbi:///cms/243038
In Turkey, continuingly strong economic growth can be observed. How does this impact the consumption behaviour of the Turkish population?cbi:///cms/243032
Since 2002, the per-capita income has nominally quadrupled. Thanks to the overall growing prosperity, the propensity to consume of the Turkish population has significantly increased. Private consumption in turn is an important driver for Turkey's strong economic growth. cbi:///cms/243033
This sounds like good prerequisites for the Turkish retail industry, doesn't it?cbi:///cms/243034
Yes, particularly when it comes to food retail, much has changed in the past ten, fifteen years. Today, modern shopping malls and large supermarkets can be found all over Turkey. However, besides the modern formats, traditional structures still remain popular. Bakkals, the Turkish version of German corner shops, still shape the retail environment and play an important role as local suppliers. On a small sales area, they offer an assortment of products of daily use. The great advantage of these shops: they have no fixed opening hours. As long as customers are coming in, the shop is open - often even after midnight. cbi:///cms/243035
In Turkey, the share of young people in the population is comparably high. To what extent does this play a role for the economy?cbi:///cms/243036
From an economic viewpoint, this demographic factor is significant in two respects: for the domestic market and the labour market. Younger consumers contribute particularly to the increase in private consumption. They are enthusiastic and open to product innovations and new services, especially on the internet. This applies first of all to the big cities and urbanised areas. But this trend can also be observed in other regions. cbi:///cms/243037
Furthermore, the young, ambitious and motivated manpower of the Turkish labour market is an important advantage of location that attracts foreign investors. Besides the strong domestic market, this is another driver for Turkey's economic boom. cbi:///cms/243039
Despite the high economic growth, the country is developing at different speeds. How do you rate the future, especially for the Eastern regions?cbi:///cms/243040
It is true that there are still regional differences between the Eastern parts of Turkey and the economically strong areas in the West, especially around Istanbul and Izmir. However, this gap has begun to shrink in the past years. New, fast-growing economic centres have developed, some of which show even better economic growth rates than the country on the whole. Among these new industrial and economic centres are for example Kayseri, Adana, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep and many others. cbi:///cms/243041
How do you evaluate Turkey's perspectives on the long run?cbi:///cms/243042
By now, Turkey is integrated into the world economy so well that global crises do not pass the country unnoticed. However, thanks to structural reforms, the systematic stabilisation of the banking sector and diversification of the export markets, it is better prepared for international economic crises than some Western countries. Turkey is politically stable, has a solid currency and a young, motivated population. With this in mind, the country's perspectives are decidedly positive. cbi:///cms/243043
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