Turkish fashion retailer LC Waikiki eyes growth in South Africa

Ilker Hacioglu, LC Waikiki international retail assistant general manager; Sid Peimer, executive director Cape Chamber of Commerce; and Yesim Mis, LC Waikiki sub-Saharan African country canager.

With its expansion into South Africa, the retailer is now operating in 43 countries with over 900 stores worldwide, selling approximately 436 million garments per year.

The company describes its fashion offering as "well-priced" and "on-trend", catering to women, men and children, with regular weekly specials from LC Waikiki’s exclusive designers.

"We’re very excited to be investing in the South African fashion sector and becoming a part of the national retail landscape,” comments LC Waikiki's sub-Saharan Africa country manager, Yeşim Mis.

Yesim Mis

With further store openings in the pipeline, Mis let us in on the retailer's attraction to and plans for the SA market.

Tell us a bit about the origins of the LC Waikiki brand and its global growth.
LC Waikiki was founded in 1988 in France and has been operating as a Turkish-based global fashion retailer since 1997. LC Waikiki enables people to enjoy affordable fashion in line with the company’s motto: “Everyone Deserves to Dress Well”.

LC Waikiki has continued to grow over the past 30 years (both in Turkey and abroad).

Being one of the leading brands of the ready-to-wear industry, LC Waikiki operates with more than 900 shops located in 43 countries and has over 42,000 employees.

What has inspired the expansion into the South African market?
The expansion into South Africa came about for various reasons including the population, income groups and the vast amount of shopping malls in the country. The variety LC Waikiki’s collections offer caters well to diverse populations such as South Africa and the expectation ratios in terms of price versus quality encouraged LC Waikiki to enter this market.

How many LC Waikiki stores can we expect to so see opened in SA, and which cities are being prioritised?
The first LC Waikiki store in South Africa was opened on 20 July 2018 at Menlyn Park, Pretoria. The second was opened in Sandton City on 5 October 2018 and the third (the first in Cape Town) opened on 8 December 2018. LC Waikiki has also finalised negotiations to open two more stores in the near future; one in Durban and a second store in Johannesburg.

For the time being, LC Waikiki is focused on logistical investments, considering the increase in the number of stores. LC Waikiki believes that its main warehouse in the country will most likely become operational in January 2019, which will enable the brand to open more stores at a rapid rate.

How do you see LC Waikiki complementing the current South African fashion retail mix?
The LC Waikiki collections can be easily described in one sentence: Everything about fashion; from the minute we get out of the bed in the morning, to the moment we get into bed in the evening. The stores will fulfill the wardrobe needs of all customers of different ages - from sleepwear to active wear; from everyday casual wear to evening dresses.

They also offer maternity wear, very good men’s ranges and clothing for newborns. Moreover, LC Waikiki stores offer customers more than 30 years of production and quality expertise at affordable prices.