Selling furniture and sleep products, Alfemo increases coverage by opening additional concept stores. Having 95 stores in Turkey and 35 in abroad, the company aimed to reach 160 stores by the end of the year. Marketing manager Suleyman Zoral informed about his company.
How was last year for your firm?
It was not so unfavorable though some problems in and out of the country had economic effects. Our firm was not affected. Change in sales was up in furniture business in general. We have grown 25% in 2015, in furniture, youth, kids, bases and headsets segments.
How fare the activities in retail?
We opened 95 stores in Turkey and 35 stores in abroad in 2015. In 2016 we targeted to open 20 additional store in the country and 10 stores in different parts of the world. Our stores are concentrated around Istanbul and other large cities. We will catch the 160 stores limit this year.
To which regions have you directed your exports recently?
Problems in close markets have caused us to divert our focus to Latin America and African countries. Last year we opened stores in Dubai, Arab and Asian countries. The USA and Canada are our other targets.
What kind of products do your customers demand?
Consumers have become more conscious and know more about mattresses. Customers naturally demand for healthier and comfortable products, because one third of their daily life is spent in sleep. We, as a manufacturer of mattress, also seek better ways and solutions to make them happy, healthier and rested. With this aim we do necessary changes in our products.
Do you have any example to show about your R&D efforts?
In cooperation with an American company, Legget&Platt, we brought so called Hi-Low technology, that is made of both higher and smaller springs. We emphasized on both comfort and health of people. We made a mattress for doubles. We used different spring schemes in two sides of the mattress. Men are taller and heavier then women. Locations of springs and paddings are also arranged accordingly to provide the best quality of sleep for both sexes. We have very soft mattresses, Selpur, that is made of materials beyond latex technology. When technology used in production heavily, health benefits of the products are maximized. Customers can return unconditionally the mattress they bought, in 90 days if they are not satisfied with the product. We have been offering this guarantee of satisfaction for three years. It is not new for us.
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