What Is The Secret Of The Rapid Risers?

In fact they are not very many in number. But their success is still stunning. We are talking about companies such as Goldaş, Anadolu Efes, Nursan Çelik and Toyota which, within a short period of time, have risen rapidly up the rankings of the 500 largest private companies in Turkey. In the period 2002 to 2006, these companies have succeeded in increasing their turnovers by 300 to 1,000 percent. Their secret is extremely simple. Some have come to prominence through organic growth, others through their different marketing activities.

It will not have escaped the notice of those who study the Capital 500 list, which ranks the “500 Largest Privately-owned Companies in Turkey”. In recent years some companies have differentiated themselves from others by the way in which they have leapt up the rankings. Even if the number of these companies is not very large, the extent of their success is quite stunning. In the period 2002 to 2006, they recorded growth rates ranging from the 300 to 1,000 percent. In this five year period the average growth rate was 50 to 200 percent.

So how have these companies succeeded in achieving a different growth rate? In fact, the answer is different for each of the companies which has leapt up the league table. Some have achieved these incredible growth rates through different marketing activities, some through organic growth and others through acquisitions. The one characteristic they all share is that they have stolen a march on their rivals by identifying the opportunities of the day.

New Store Concept
Goldaş is one of the companies which has attracted the most attention for the way in which it has leapt up the list. The company increased its turnover by 1,079 percent between 2002 and 2006, at an average annual growth of 85 percent. Goldaş exports to 45 countries and restructures its business processes according to the country to which it is exporting. In addition to production, which is the most important, it has also caught the eye by making its presence felt in other branches of the sector such as mining and retailing. Goldaş Board Chairman Sedat Yalınkaya put a lot of effort into establishing its own store chain. Moreover, at a time when gold was only sold in jewellers, it played a pioneering role in introducing a different store concept. In addition, Goldaş’s activities in the trade in precious metals has also played an important role in its growth. Goldaş accounts for 60 percent of the gold imports and 85 percent of the silver imports on the Istanbul Gold Exchange.

Structuring Benefited Efes
Anadolu Efes ranks second in terms of those who have expanded the quickest with a total growth of 750 percent over five years at an annual average of 71 percent. It is indebted for this success to the launch of new products and an internal restructuring of the company. The company has been responsible for many firsts and has caught the customer’s imagination by offering different packaging and products, such as the first light beer, canned beer, non-returnable bottles and five litre barrels. Anadolu Efes CFO Hurşit Zorlu says that it will continue to grow rapidly both inside Turkey and in its foreign operations, and he adds: “As a result of the restructuring process, which we initiated in October 2005 and completed in 2006, we have collected all of our soft drinks operations under a single system. As a result, in 2006 the company’s income from soft drinks rose by 41 percent compared with the previous year to YTL 1.667 billion.”

Toyota is another of the companies which have grown rapidly, particularly in the passenger car market. It rose from 7th in the rankings in the automobile market in 2005 to 5th in 2006 and 3rd at the end of the first seven months of 2007. Its new generation models have resulted in it being ranked first in the C segment. ToyotaSa has broken sales records, particularly since 2004. In the period January-September 2006 it was the brand which had most increased its market share when compared with 2000. It ranks amongst the companies which have grown the fastest, increasing its turnover by 607 percent between 2002 and 2006.

ToyotaSa General Manager İbrahim Orhon says that the intense competition in the passenger car market has made it more difficult to increase market share. Despite this, in the first five months of 2007, ToyotaSa succeeded in increasing its share of the passenger car market to 8.1 percent.

This market share has meant that it has risen from the fifth brand in the sector last year to the fourth. Orhon evaluates these developments as follows: “In parallel to all of these achievements, Toyota has strengthened its position and importance in the market and established an important place for itself on the market. Most importantly, ToyotaSa has made considerable progress towards its target of being the brand with the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”

New Capacity Brought Growth
Nursan Çelik increased its turnover by 620.5 percent between 2002 and 2006 and ranks amongst the leaders when it comes to those who have grown the fastest. Nursan Çelik General Manager Sabri Keleş explains the factors behind the approximate six fold growth over the last five years as follows: “The main reasons for our growth have been our activities to increase capacity and exports. We foresaw the growth that was coming in the construction sector and increased our capacity.”

Another example of a company which has been able to increase its turnover several times over by raising capacity is the company in seventh place, Er-Bakır Elektrolitik Bakır Mamülleri. In the last five years the company has increased its capacity for added value goods in particular from 55,000 tons to 110,000 tons. Another factor enabling it to grow more rapidly has been the investment it has made in modern technology. Er-Bakır Commercial Manager and Company Partner Sedat Erikoğlu says that the establishment in the US of an export-oriented sales and marketing company, which is 100 percent owned by Er-Bakır, has played an important role in its success.

Şeyma Öncel Bayıksel
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