The Karaca story began 50 years ago when the Turkish brand started life as a small family business and it has been synonymous with excellent quality, innovative products and fair prices ever since. In this interview, RLI speaks with Fatih Karaca, CEO of Karaca to discuss the company’s expansion, its family of brands and its long-awaited launch into the UK.
Back in 1973, Hüseyin Karaca launched a small workshop in Süleymaniye called Karaca Züccaciye, which began life employing 30 people who created patterned glassware. The business quickly grew to incorporate the sales of porcelain and by the 90s they had established a large customer portfolio through the distribution of small household electrical appliances. As the stature of the company continued to increase, they began producing steel cookware sets under their own brand of Karaca in 1999 and they have never looked back.
“From the very start, we have always been committed to adding value and the joy of sharing to people’s homes and family life,” explains Fatih Karaca, CEO of Karaca. “Our story has spread from one family to many and with it our family has grown and multiplied.”
Today the Karaca name encompasses 11 brands, Karaca, Karaca Home, Emsan, Jumbo, Cook Plus, Kaşmir Halı, Homend, Nautica Home, Weimar Porzelland, Pera Bulvarı and Cooklife. Its own brand Karaca brings together a staggering 28,000 products across 140 categories ranging from dinnerware to small home appliances.
“We have brick-and-mortar operations in 25 countries with more than 300 dedicated stores and 2,000 concessions and we also sell our products in 48 countries through our online sales, reseller and distributor network,” says Fatih.
After launching their first store outside of Türkiye in Azerbaijan in 2014, external expansion has continued and in November last year they unveiled their first site in the UK in London at Islington Square. Spread across 2,641sq ft, the two-storey space upon opening offered a selection of seasonal gift ideas as well as homeware including new lines and their limited-edition ground pearl collaboration with designer Hussein Chalayan. As well as this landmark store in the UK (with more on the horizon), Karaca added a fifth unit in Germany and their first store in Paris, France.
Europe is fast becoming the businesses most important target market in terms of both geographical proximity and purchasing power. They will continue with their rapid roll-out of retail stores abroad whilst also simultaneously being present through e-commerce in the markets they enter. Some new markets they are hoping to enter in the coming years include the US and Asia.
London, UK
From its inception, the most important goal for the brand has always been innovation and the breaking of new ground in the industry to turn their dreams into reality. As the company continues to expand, the Karaca Group will remain steadfast in its efforts to add value to the homeware sector through their 11 brands as well as increasing its influence in the global market with its design and products.
“One of our goals is to be a brand that also inspires the leading brands in the world with our value-added products, including those created by Turkish designers and engineers based in Türkiye. We try to really innovate when creating new product lines and we also like to collaborate with an array of designers. From research, development and perfecting designs to refining the manufacturing process and delivering the quality and finish, it all takes time. Now we have unique products, with our pearl collections for example offering luminescence whilst also being light and delicate yet durable,” Karaca explains.
As we ask the CEO about the role of social media, he goes on to discuss how Karaca uses social media platforms as both sales and marketing channels to build brand awareness and how they push on with the adaptation of their sites to keep up with the dynamics of social media. They also work hard to engage with their customers and provide fun, relevant, seasonal and on-brand content across all their channels.
London, UK
On the topic of sustainability, the business believes that this will be a catalyst in retaining loyal customers and appealing to new customers, ‘Karacalovers’ as well as transforming and educating their employees and their company.
“It will also be a catalyst for us as we expand abroad under changing world conditions. Sustainability is both a necessity, a social responsibility and an area for commercial growth for Karaca, as we work to introduce more sustainable processes, recycled materials and sustainable packaging into our collections to add to the eco-friendly rugs, for example, made of 100 per cent recycled cotton.”
As time begins to run out with Fatih, we turn our attention to what he feels are the key drivers behind the success of the brand to date. Looking back on his experience, he believes the company has done two things very well. The first of these is that they have a dedicated team and a network of very good partners and secondly, after updating their vision and goals they have implemented long-term marketing projects.
London, UK
“In short, we put people at the centre of everything we do, of every decision we make and we have been sincere and made ourselves accessible. When we did all of these things, success followed naturally.”
As Karaca looks to enter the US market by 2030 and the Asian market by 2040, family is always at the heart of everything they do and they want this to remain the case as they continue their expansion both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores as they look to become one of the leading homeware brands in the world.
