Turkey's oldest furniture showroom dealer Modoko aims to make an additional $350 million (TL 2.7 billion) in furniture exports to European Union countries, which currently stands at $1.4 billion, with a 365-day virtual fair.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Modoko Chairperson Koray Çalışkan said the company brings together small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) furniture manufacturers and provides its services in 350 stores in an area of ​​150,000 square meters (1.6 million square feet).

Çalışkan said Turkey aims to be in the top five countries in the world in terms of furniture exports by 2023, adding that Modoko will be launching significant projects during the next few years. He also noted that Modoko continues its activities at full capacity despite the COVID-19 pandemic

“Our virtual fair, which will last one year, is going to start at the end of this month. The virtual fair will be on a country basis and will start with Germany. Three-hundred brands of Modoko will exhibit their products. Our furniture export to the EU countries was $1.3 billion last year, which is expected to rise to $1.4 billion this year. With the virtual fair, we aim to increase this figure by at least 25% next year and to contribute an additional $350 million to Turkey’s exports,” he said.

Modoko has a 20% share of Turkey’s furniture exports to over 40 countries. It meets 40% of the furniture needs of Turkey’s largest province Istanbul and employs 5,000 people.

Çalışkan said that the virtual fair focuses on the countries with high added value, noting that they will continue with England, France and Italy after Germany.

“We aim to increase our exports to Germany by at least $100 million,” the Modoko chairman said.

Modoko continues its activities in different locations of the world. In October 2019, the dealer announced it would open a furniture showroom in the U.S. to sell wares and contribute to the two countries’ $100 billion bilateral trade target. The showroom is said to have a minimum size of 15,000 square meters and feature 80 brands that would include all the needs of a business – management, sales, service, logistics, advertising and legal.

To support the domestic furniture industry, the Turkish government announced tax cuts on furniture in January. Value-added tax (VAT) on furniture has been reduced to 8%, down from 18%.