“We want to expand the market”

Hazım Ellialtı is Eti’s new CEO. His arrival resulted in many of the inflexible systems at Eti being changed. Ellialtı believes that there is no reason why in the future Eti cannot record double digit growth. Because, contrary to what most people in the sector believe, Ellialtı thinks that there is still room for expansion in biscuits and chocolate.

There were a lot of important changes and transfers of executives in the Turkish business world in 2006. One of the most important of these was undoubtedly Hazım Ellialtı accepting the post of CEO at Eti.
Elliatlı has specific plans for the future. He does not agree with those who say that the market has tightened but believes that it is possible to expand it. Furthermore, he is so optimistic that he says that: “If there was no chance of growth in this category then I wouldn’t have accepted the job.” He says that taking market share from rivals is against his strategy and continues as follows: “I want to be an instrument for rapid growth in the category. In fact, this was one of the reasons why I left Unilever. There was a better chance of me doing this at Eti than at Ülker. Because our market share is relatively low. For this reason we have the chance both to increase our market share and our category as a whole.”
We spoke with Hazim Ellialtı about his new position at Eti and his plans for the future.

* Where has competition in biscuits and chocolate been heading recently?
Consumers now want added value products. At the same time, they want to see that companies attach importance to them. It is possible to demonstrate this with new products. In addition, promotional campaigns and advertisements which make the sector attractive can affect consumers.
At the moment, there is a battle to take market share in the upper categories of the sector. Companies are competing to produce higher value added products for consumers at higher prices. I mean, cthe ompetition is not in the cheap products but is concentrated in the added value products.

You are active in a total of five categories. What are your market shares in these categories?
According to the figures for January-September 2006, we have market shares of 29.9 percent in biscuits, 46.2 percent in cakes and tarts, 34.2 percent in crackers, 10.2 percent in chocolate covered bars and 9.1 percent in bars of chocolate.
* Which are the locomotive categories of those in which you are active?
Although it looks as if biscuits are the locomotives, in fact we have a significant market share in cakes. If there is one category in which we are well ahead of our rivals it is this one. We are also ahead of Ülker in this category. In the other categories we are 30-40 percent behind.

What are Eti’s targets for exports?
We have an export volume of over $30 million. We want to secure growth of 30-40 percent in our exports. In 2007 we are aggressively targeting growth on foreign markets. I think this is something that can be achieved. I am planning to allocate all the necessary resources for this.

Şeyma Öncel Bayıksel
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