AYSAF Opens Its Doors to Visitors

AYSAF Opens Doors to Visitors AYSAF, the International Footwear Component Industry Fair and a key meeting point for the footwear sector, brought together world-leading companies in its field for the 67th time for the autumn-winter season. The 67th Footwear Component Industry Fair AYSAF, organized in cooperation with the Footwear Component Manufacturers Association (AYSAD) and Artkim Fairs, brought together leading companies from around the world. AYSAF hosted 330 participating companies, 23 of which are foreign, expanding the exhibition area by 15 percent and the number of visitors by 20 percent across 22,366 square meters.

Exports Begin in Component Industry

At the fair opening ceremony conducted by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekip Avdagiç, İDMİB President Güven Karaca, AYSAD President Sait Salıcı and Artkim Fairs Executive Board President Cengiz Yaman, the message was conveyed that "exports begin in the component industry. There can be no full industry without component industry." "We Are Excited About the Upward Momentum in the Footwear Sector" Avdagiç: "Global problems have directed companies toward Turkey" Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekip Avdagiç, noting this was his first event following the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce elections, stated: "We are excited about the upward momentum in the footwear sector. We believe this sector has the potential for trigonometric growth in terms of fair participation as well as production and exports. Over the last 15 years, Turkish companies have faced significant difficulties in participating in international fairs. These are gradually being overcome, but due to problems in Europe and globally, participation has declined and Turkey has become more attractive for companies. We need to place greater emphasis on and expand fairs in Turkey. Our goal is not only to generate profits for companies but also to contribute to the country's economy," he said. İDMİB President Güven Karaca, noting that the leather sector is the fourth largest exporting sector, stated: "The growth of e-commerce volume is very important. The Purchasing Delegation coming to the fair under the organization of our Ministry of Trade and coordination of İDMİB will meet with participating companies both through individual visits and specially created B2B meeting areas. We aim to increase the current e-commerce volume of 15.5 trillion dollars to 57 trillion dollars by 2027 through such initiatives." Participants Expected from 30 Countries AYSAD President Sait Salıcı said: "Our fair is Europe's second and Eurasia's largest fair. Today we are holding the 67th edition of our fair. The fair holds an important place for our country and region. Our fair, with a capacity of 23,000 square meters, is receiving intense interest this year and we expect participants from approximately 30 countries. All our component manufacturers and we are ready both in terms of technology and infrastructure."

"We Plan to Close the Year with 20-25 Percent Growth"

Salıcı stated: "Our footwear sector holds a very important place in exports. We closed last year at 1 billion dollars. At the point we have reached, we plan to close the year with approximately 20-25 percent growth in the last quarter. In the first 10 months, we approached last year's figures. By year-end we aim to close at 1 billion 600 million dollars. Despite the contraction in the world, our sector is a dynamic one. With approximately 4 hours of air transport, our potential in the footwear sector is around 60 billion dollars. We have a major advantage in transporting products to nearby geographies compared to the Far East. Our expectations for the footwear sector in 2023 are very high," he said. Salıcı continued: "With the pandemic, interest shifted from the Far East to our country in the footwear sector. For this reason, our country reached an important position in the sector. The war between Russia and Ukraine also directed Europe's footwear sector toward Turkey. Particularly Russia's disagreements with Europe have significantly affected us commercially." Artkim Fairs Executive Board President Cengiz Yaman stated: "As a company, we organize fairs domestically and internationally. After the pandemic, the course of the fair industry changed. Our aim is to introduce companies participating in the fair to the domestic and international markets in the best way possible and to develop exports."

Fashion Show "Industry Begins in Component Manufacturing"

On the 2nd and 3rd days of the fair (16-18 November dates), a fashion show will be held under the motto "Industry Begins in Component Manufacturing," featuring famous models Özge Ulusoy, Zeliha Çal and title-holding beauties, offering participating companies the opportunity to showcase their latest collections. Additionally, at AYSAF, in the trend area to be created in the fair space, companies will be able to present their leading trend products to sector appreciation. The fair will welcome visitors between 16-19 November.