Kale Group opens the biggest concept store of the construction industry in Northern Iraq in Erbil
Kale Group launched the biggest concept store in a foreign country in Erbil, Northern Iraq. The opening ceremony of 10th of February 2011, saw the attendance of important figures such as Mr. Aydın Selcen, Turkish ambassador, Mr. Semir Abdullah, Minister in charge of Municipalities, Mr. Hacı Sabah Ahmet, the Vice Industry and Commerce Minister, Mr. Tahir Abdullah, the Vice Governor of Erbil, Mr. Sıdki Zirari, the Head of Erbil Municipalities, Mr. İsmail Muhammed, the President of the Industrial Municipalities, Mr. Dara Celilhayat, the President of the Erbil Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Zeynep Bodur Okyay, the President of the Kale Group, Mr. Ahmet Hacı Ali Yusuf and Mr. Kemal Ekşi, the shareholders of the Diwan Company, the Northern Iraq distributor of Kale Group, The President of Kale Groups, Ceramics Division, Mr. Tarık Özçelik, Mr. Bahadır Kayan, the General Coordinator of Kaleseramik in charge of sales and marketing, Mr. Ahmet Aksu, Kalevit General Manager, government officials, public officers and representatives of the private companies working in Erbil.
Zeynep Bodur Okyay, the President of the Kale Group commented on the opening and said that she was happy to be in Iraq for the opening of the Erbil store and also added that they were proud to be opening the first and only store of the region with the widest range of products available. Okyay said that the Iraq-Turkey relation is crucial and that they were committed to create a joint business culture in Iraq. Okyay continued, “We see that the global economy is shifting towards the east. At Kale Group, we are shaping our strategies accordingly and by increasing our dominance in priority markets we will continue to present our innovative products. We aim to increase our market share in the fast developing countries like Libya, Abkhazia, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, UAE and Iraq.”
Bodur also mentioned about the international achievements and targets of Kale Group and continued: ‘We have more than 300 distributors and thousands of points of sales. We export 50% of our products to European Union countries, 20% to Middle East countries, 10% to North America and the remaining 20% to other countries. This makes us the leader in Turkey, the third in Europe, and 10th in the world. At Kale Group, we aim to increase our export in 2011 by 25% and reach 225 million TL.’
Bodur said that many showrooms were opened in many countries in 2010, which reflects their renewed approach of store management. She added that they hoped such an activity will increase brand awareness and make them the most preferred brand in the country. Bodur elaborated: ‘We have stores in Baku, Dubai and Abkhazia. We plan to open up to stores in Libya in March. In India, our corner store will be opened. In 2012, we will open our Jeddah and Riyadh concept stores. Our target is increasing the number of concept stores in Russia, Turkic Republics and in the East.’
Bodur said that they planned to enter the developing countries with joint ventures: “In Iraq, which is a crucial market for us, we aim to achieve market leadership with all our brands. Today we have operations in Erbil, Kerkük, Süleymaniye, Zaho, Dohuk and Musul. We plan to build our distribution network in all the cities of Iraq, and start opening stores. This store opening today is the first step towards this goal.”
The new store in Erbil, is managed by Mr. Ahmet Hacı Ali Yusuf and Mr. Kemal Ekşi, the shareholders of Diwan Company which is the Northern Iraq distributor of the Kale Group. The store on Shoresh Street, which leads to city of Selahattin where the Presidential Palace is located, will cover 530 m2. The store will be the first and only store in Northern Iraq offering sanitary ceramics, faucets, bathroom furniture, bathtubs, construction chemicals.
Diwan Company, founded by Iraq and Turkish shareholders, has been producing kitchen cupboards and distributing these products all around Iraq. Kale Group products are sold by Diwan Company dealers not only in Erbil but also in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Dohuk, Ramadi and Mosul. Diwan Company works to open new dealers and stores across Iraq. Kale Group, together with Diwan Company, will open Basra store in March after the fair.
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