We shall take Pınar outside Turkey

”During the four years she has been in her post, Yaşar Holding İdil Yiğitbaşı has grown the group considerably. She says that the group closed last year with turnover of TL 3.2 billion and will record a growth rate of 10 per cent in 2013.

She underlines that they will achieve the target they announced last year of “$500 million in investments over the next five years, turnover of TL 7 billion in 2017”. But she adds that they will not expand outside their existing sectors in order to achieve this growth.

Yiğitbaşı says: “We are developing new markets. We have increased our foreign sales by 20 per cent this year. Our target is to take Pınar in particular outside Turkey.” Here are Yiğitbaşı’s answers to our questions:

Capital: You have headed Yaşar Holding for the last four years. When you look at the balance sheet for these four years, what has changed since you took over?
- We had a lot of targets but the most important was related to the paint sector. We have grown significantly in paint. Our full capacity utilization areas have increased. We have doubled the turnover of our paint group.

We have raised our company’s ranking still higher. We have reached a certain level in competition. We have changed the appearance of DYO. At the end of 2012, DYO’s turnover reached TL 486 million. We are the top paint company, the leader, of the Turkish paint sector. We are very ambitious in this regard.

Capital: How has 2013 been? What will the group’s total turnover be?
- The holding’s total turnover has reached TL 3.2 billion. We have set a target of 10 per cent every year. We shall achieve this target. We are aiming to grow more than the Turkish average.

Capital: Foodstuffs and soft drinks are very important for Yaşar Holding. How is your performance there?
- We are aiming to be more successful abroad in some categories. In cheese in particular, we want to become an international brand. Pınar has made very good progress in this regard in Turkey. It has significant market shares in the Gulf countries.

We are even the market leader in cream cheese in the Gulf countries. We are developing new markets. We have increased our foreign sales by 20 per cent this year. Now our target is to take Pınar outside Turkey. Pınar should not just be a Turkish brand but an international brand. In milk and dairy products our main markers are the Gulf countries, the Middle East, Europe and the Turkic Republics.

In addition, we also have exports to the USA. We have great potential in meat products. We are exporting fish to Europe and the USA. We have exports of water and are also working to develop our dairy and meat products. We are one of the most important exporters in Turkey in several categories.

Capital: What are the figures for the group’s exports and revenue from abroad?
- In 2012, the Yaşar Group’s revenue from abroad stood at $124 million and our exports were $95 million. Foodstuffs and soft drinks account for 65 per cent of this. We export to more than 40 different countries. Pınar alone accounts for 22 per cent of Turkey’s exports of milk and dairy products.

In addition to exports, there are also products that we buy and sell abroad. We produce paint in Russia. We do not yet have any foodstuffs production facilities of our own abroad. We sub-contract production for the Pınar brand.

Capital: In how many categories do you have a presence with the Pınar brand?
- We have a presence in 14 categories. In terms of turnover, Pınar is the market leader in long life milk, spreadable cheese, enriched milk for children and organic milk. In meat, it continues to be the market leader in sucuk, salami and sausage products in the delicatessen market and in frozen meat products.

For years, Pınar has also been the first brand that comes to mind in the milk and packaged meat products. According to a survey of customer satisfaction conducted by KALDER, in milk, meat, water and fruit juice, we are the brand with which customers are most satisfied.

Capital: You said that in the last four years, you have doubled in size in paint. Have you experienced a similar growth in foodstuffs?
- We have not grown so much there but our growth rate has been above the sectoral average every year. The rates of increase in our exports have been higher but the average rate of growth has been around 10 per cent.

Capital: As you enter 2014, do you have any targets for the new year in terms of investments and growth?
- We review our strategies every year. We make a three year strategic plan. At the moment we are in that period. We laid the foundations for the third Pınar Süt factory in Şanlıurfa. It is an important and strategic investment.

Milk is a raw material that is procured locally. We are aiming to increase milk production in that region. We have already begun work. We shall manufacture products such as milk, yoghurt and ayran there. We shall have a factory that will be very important in terms of exports to neighbouring counties.

In addition, we shall continue to work on investments for new products and capacity increases for each of our companies. These investments will result in our capacity in milk and dairy products increasing to 900 million litres.

Capital: You mentioned a turnover target of TL 7 billion in 2017. Has there been any change?
- It is the same. There has been no major change. Over the last decade, Yaşar Holding has realised fixed investment to the value of around TL 600 million in real terms. Around TL 300 million of this has been realised in the last five years. Approximately TL 75 million of this was realised in 2012.

Pınar Süt’s new factory investment in Şanlıurfa, that is planned to become operational in 2014, is very important. The factory is planned to cover an area of 100,000 square metres and will create a direct or indirect source of income for 5,000 people in the region.

Capital: How large a budget does the group allocate to R&D?
- We monitor our R&D budget. The percentages in the different companies vary. But we are planning to increase this budget. At the same time, we are investing in human resources. We want to make Yaşar Holding the company in which people most want to work.  This is a very important target for is. Almost all of our executives have been raised and come up through the ranks of our companies.