The chairperson of one of Türkiye's major clothing retailers, LC Waikiki, hinted recently at the potential of reentering the Syrian market if stability returns while also highlighting the company's achievements and growing turnover at the time when it marked its 15th anniversary in the global arena.
"Before the war, we had a store in Syria and were making efforts to expand rapidly there, even establishing our own company. Recently, we’ve received requests asking, 'Would you provide a dealership or a franchise?' But that region is geographically close and familiar to us. If stability returns and things calm down, we will go there ourselves," Vahap Küçük, chairperson of the executive board of LC Waikiki, said.
Speaking at a news conference held in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, to mark LC Waikiki's 15th anniversary in the global arena, Küçük said that the LC Waikiki brand operates 1,300 stores across 61 countries on five continents.
He noted that the company achieved a turnover of TL 207 billion ($5.9 billion) in 2024, reflecting 55% growth.
"We have increased our branded export figure to $1.2 billion. We have become market leaders in 23 countries. Our brand continues to expand its physical investments with a store area of 2.1 million square meters, welcoming 17 million visitors to our stores weekly," he said.
"Throughout the year, we connect 600 million products with customers worldwide. By 2025, we aim for 40% growth, targeting a turnover of TL 290 billion," he added.
He also emphasized plans for e-commerce growth of 70%, aiming for a turnover of TL 15 billion, alongside a plan for TL 5 billion investment in logistics and digitalization.
Furthermore, Küçük also highlighted the company's efforts in terms of educational and social support, mentioning they have allocated 15% of its net profit in 2024 for social assistance.
LC Waikiki, initially founded in France, became a Turkish organization in 1997 after being purchased by Tema Tekstil. It gained significant popularity in the domestic market, and in recent years, it has expanded further globally by opening stores in some African countries as well as Latin America.
Providing more details on the company's future aspirations and plans for expansion, Küçük said that they also aim to open stores in developed markets such as France and the U.K. in 2026 and that they will continue to deepen their presence in existing countries until 2026.
Stating that the number of countries in the foreign market would reach approximately 80, he further said, "We can enter 20 more countries by 2026. Latin America was a great opportunity for us. We are also growing rapidly in Africa. If we start growing in the West, we can achieve our goals."
In line with this, he also revealed the expansion on the side of logistics. While recalling that they have three main logistics centers, he also said that they are also making a technology investment, mentioning the involvement of AI and robots in finding and arranging products to be shipped to stores.
"We have made a lot of investment in that regard. Now we have started to build logistics centers in big countries. We are building them in Kazakhstan; we are about to finish the construction," he said.
On the side of Syria, Küçuk said that the developments are relatively new. "We are waiting too. Hopefully, the order will be established soon. Before the war, we had a store in Syria and we made efforts to establish stores quickly there, we had established a company ourselves," he explained.
"Recently, we started receiving requests saying, 'Would you give us a dealership, a franchise?' But it is a geography that we know well, a close geography. If order is established and things calm down, we will go there ourselves. Time will also show whether works will be established or not," he said.
LC Waikiki, which began its globalization journey by opening its first store abroad in Romania in 2009, today reaches millions of customers across a wide geographic area, extending from Latin America to Africa, Asia to Europe.
The brand, which entered new markets such as Chile, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Somalia and Mongolia in 2024, further consolidated its presence worldwide with its strong retail network.
