Thriving on Diversity
An experience-based retail brand that feeds on innovation, Boyner integrates customer happiness and technology into its business model, taking responsibility in social areas to beautify the lives it touches. Here, we meet up with CEO Eren Çamurdan to discuss the company’s transformational journey in recent years and what its plans are moving forward.
With its great team structure and deep-rooted culture behind its core values, the brand transforms every day and starts each day with a new excitement. Customers are the most important factor in inspiring Boyner’s innovative strategy and with the energy their customers help create, the business has been introducing groundbreaking innovations in the industry and offering collections from fashion-forward brands to its guests since 1981.
Currently there are 123 stores operating in 43 provinces of Turkey and they recently launched destinations in Antalya at Land of Legends, one of the world’s largest theme parks and in Ordu, a province they had not entered previously. Within their store portfolio, they offer over 600 brands across more than 309,000sq m of retail space.
“We swiftly adapted to the changes brought by the digital age and offer a seamless shopping experience through our omni-channel sales strategies, both in our physical stores and online platforms,” explains Eren Çamurdan, CEO of Boyner. “Furthermore, through our online channels which welcome 500 million visitors annually, we extend the Boyner experience to the whole of Turkey.”
Çamurdan mentions that it is very important for them to offer their experience-oriented retailing in the right location by blending it with a suitable concept for the spirit and expectation of that location. It is via this method that they plan their store investments and while they continue to increase the number of stores in their existing locations, they are also opening doors to stores in locations that have not seen Boyner before.
The first concrete step of their retail transformation journey was taken in 2021 and has continued ever since.
Last December, they renovated their İstinyePark Shopping Mall site and introduced the brand new Boyner İstinyePark, which brings together art, technology and innovative experiences inspired by life to visitors.
“With the İstinyePark location, we have created an entirely new experience that transports visitors to another world, featuring everything from product personalisation and items made from recycled materials to a Nail Art corner, social media zones and Costa Coffee,” Çamurdan comments.
“We swiftly adapted to the changes brought by the digital age and offer a seamless shopping experience through our omni-channel sales strategies, both in our physical stores and online platforms.”
One of the most important elements in this transformation strategy and growth journey is its online channels. In 2023, the company took important steps that made a difference in Boyner online and as a result of these steps, the share of their online sales reached 27 per cent. By the end of 2024, they are targeting a growth of more than 100 per cent through their online channels and they anticipate that the share in total sales will increase to 33 per cent.
Continuously developing new concepts, Boyner’s passion for sports and active living is an essential part of their retail experience. With this in mind, they have developed the Boyner Dynamic store concept. Through this concept, they offer more than 4,000 products and accessories from various sports to active lifestyle and sports enthusiasts.
In addition, inspired by the success of Boyner Dynamic, they have launched the Boyner Dynamic Teen concept for children and young people between the ages of 8-16. With this new store, the first of which opened in Istanbul at Boyner İstinyePark, they offer a dynamic and fun world to young people and children who make sports a part of their lives from a young age.
As the topic of conversation moves to social media, Çamurdan explains that at the centre of their social media strategy is their strong collaboration with content creators. He highlights that influencers, who play a major role in marketing strategies, create captivating stories that hook consumers’ attention and have a significant impact. To further amplify this impact, they aim to manage their collaborations with influencers through a systematic business model and thus launched a special influencer platform called InClub by Boyner.
“InClub by Boyner is a platform that elevates content creators’ collaboration with Boyner, supporting creative minds to produce freely. Via this platform, content creators can curate their own collections and share them with their followers, while easily tracking their earnings. The wide range of brands and personalised shopping experiences offered by Boyner present unique opportunities for both content creators and their followers,” explains Çamurdan.
Also key to their operations is sustainability, as they endeavour to combine sustainability and retailing through their sense of responsibility towards the world, society, people and the environment. Whatever they do, their first priority is to think about these elements and they plan every project with a ‘value-adding, responsible and sustainable approach’ and focus on improving the lives that the brand reaches.
One of the latest projects in this area is related to their logistics operations. By switching to foldable plastic crates made from recycled materials for store deliveries, they will prevent the use of 200,000 new cardboard boxes per year. Through this project, they aim to create significant environmental benefits by preventing the cutting down of 3,400 trees.
By creating a rich and dynamic culture that thrives on diversity, Boyner’s creativity, courage and passion enable them to design innovative and liberating shopping experiences for their customers. They act with an understanding that aims to make their customers’ lives easier and go beyond their expectations.
“As we look to the future, our main goal is to build a hybrid shopping model by integrating our physical stores with the digital shopping experience as we do now. In addition, sustainability and making the supply chain more transparent are among the important issues that will affect our growth in the coming years,” Çamurdan highlights.
“By further strengthening our e-commerce operation, we will continue to offer personalised solutions to enhance customer experience and loyalty. While working to improve these dynamics, which are currently in our focus, our top priority will be to prepare our brand for the future by adapting to changing marketing strategies.”
