Global Warming Makes Company Shutdown Plant

How about this? Collezione, one of the most preferred brands among shoppers with low-medium income level in Turkey, has announced that they closed their three production facilities in Kirklareli, Turkey leaving 450 people unemployed.

"Due to global warming, knitwear is not attracting enough costumers. This phenomenon, combined with our competitors' changing policies, has pressured us to stop our production.” said Ekrem Akyigit Collezione chairman of the board of directors in an interview he gave to Sibel Cingi, from Referans Newspaper.

With their only factory in Turkey, Collezione works mainly with domestic Turkish manufacturers. Collezione has manufacturing facilities with an annual capacity of 2.7 million units of weaving and cutting, along with 840,000 units of knitwear production capacity and has a target of $50 million turnover and has 125 stores in overseas.

According to the report, “Implementing production overseas is not among our future plans [due to associated high production costs]. We will continue to increase the number of our domestic providers. Some 90 percent of products sold in Collezione stores are made by Turkish companies. Only items such as accessories, which are not produced here in sufficient quantities, are imported.” said Akyigit and added, “Domestic production is very important for us. We will benefit from the creative crew of 1200 people within the body of our providers.”

Akyigit spotted out that their growth plans are still binding and they hopefully will have new stores opened in countries like Malta, Belarus, Egypt and Lebanon by the end of 2007. He explained that they are intending to hit their existing targets by increasing the number of producers they work with from 250 to 400 this year, despite GW shutdowns.

Collezione Corporate Website