5 Nej

Organic Apparel from Turkey

Alison Jonas

Figure 5.1 Nej Logo

Nestled in an unassuming walk-up in the fashionable district of Nişantaşi, Istanbul, Nej headquarters’ demure exterior speaks to its soft-handed and philosophical approach to the otherwise cut-throat fashion business. Still, its roots in some of the most coveted real estate in the city—its neighbors include Topshop, Starbucks and a string of Fifth Avenue-caliber retail outlets—is a testament to the company’s presence in the Turkish fashion market.

The Nej atelier boasts a spa-like ambiance, whisking one off of the boisterous streets and into an incense-infused oasis in a single breath. “I designed it myself,” Nejla Güvenç—the company’s founder and namesake —commented humbly, referring to the modern yet elegantly furnished office space and studio. Organic garments carefully placed by season, style and fabric line the wood-paneled walls. “Fashion design pervades all aspects of life—including interior design,” Güvenç explained. Indeed, her simplistic yet artistic style is reflected in both the garments themselves and their surroundings.

Modest Beginnings: Foray into Fashion

Born in 1969 in Istanbul, Nejla was a gifted child artist and first learned of the design profession after seeing it in a movie in her youth. Though her parents envisioned a career in teaching for their daughter—she has an undeniable youthful exuberance—she had her sights set on fashion design at an early age. When it came time to pursue higher education, Nejla lived in Istanbul with her aunt while studying industrial design at the Anatolian Business Institute; at the time, the fashion design major did not yet exist. She later transferred to the Tasarı Fashion Design Institute to study fashion design at a location closer to her family.

After school, Nejla worked as a designer at Derishow from 1993 to 2000, then moved on to another prominent fashion house, Beymen, where she designed collections from 2000 to 2001. Still, despite her success at Beymen, Nejla craved more creative freedom. “I wanted to craft my own identity and audience,” she recalled. She left her post in 2000 to become a freelance designer.

Birth of a Brand

Shortly after her departure from Beymen, Nejla began to satisfy her passion for all things pure by exploring the wave of organic fabrics that slowly appeared on the manufacturing scene. As the organic movement gained momentum, she was an early supporter and avid consumer of its products, citing the closeness with nature and the products’ positive effects on the mind and soul.

Nejla defied the economic challenges most others in the retail sector faced given the economic crisis in the early 2000s; while reduced consumer spending plagued fashion behemoths across the globe, Nejla forged ahead with her dream of growing her own fashion empire. Years of building trust with manufacturers began to pay off, as many of the sourcing agents with whom she had worked at Derishow and Beymen began to reach out to Nejla with the hopes of collaborating on the establishment of her very own brand. Nejla finally settled on one manufacturing partner to launch her company with. The venture was aptly named Nej.

In 2002, after just one year of working exclusively with its manu facturing partner, the Nej company had sufficient funds to go out on its own and was officially established. Now the sole owner of the Nej company and no longer constrained by the manufacturer’s production pressures, Nejla began marketing her clothes under the Nej brand, simultaneously forging partnerships with several other manufacturers. The creation of the brand itself grew out of consumer demand and requests for a Nej-inspired label— a promising indication of the brand’s future growth potential.

The Nej brand is defined by its fashionable, high-quality organic designs (see Figure 5.2). The inspiration for this approach—admittedly more costly

Figure 5.2 Sample Pieces from the Nej Collection 2011

Source: Photos provided by Alison Jonas.

to produce and appealing to a smaller customer base—is rooted in Nejla’s optimism about the future and the potential of the Turkish people, paired with an intrinsic appreciation for the arts.

“We would like to do something good for the next generation,” Nejla said of her brand, referring to the eco-friendly organic fabrics used in all Nej apparel. Moreover, she cited the personal benefits one derives from organic apparel: “All the negative energy leaves when you wear organic.” She further noted the antibacterial and ultraviolet-resistent nature of organic fabrics that lend themselves to indirect cancer prevention.

The Nej brand also stands for a series of paradoxes on a more abstract level. Nejla, a spiritual individual by nature, emphasized the broader implications for a brand which has grown out of Istanbul, located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, with deep roots as a center of ancient civilizations. “Our designs are taking inspiration from the past and inspiring the future . . . we think in opposites,” she noted, referring to the juxtaposition of past/future and Europe/Asia. She continued to describe her designs “as a place where her philosophy and identity meets the old and the new, art and industry, simplicity and extravagance, fun and originality.”

Ever the optimist with a seemingly unending arsenal of ambition, Nejla detailed her global ambitions for the Nej brand—ambitions which have been greatly influenced by her patriotism. “We are trying to establish a new Turkish image,” she said, referring to the widespread political and economic perceptions of Turkey as a developing nation (a term which Nejla dislikes). “By erasing boundaries, we hope to discover the new Nej woman across the globe.” Indeed, the brand seeks to defy historical prejudices against Turkish people and their capabilities, and to redefine the vast potential of this growing nation.

The Nej Woman

With this brand identity in mind, Nejla described the target customer as a chic global woman who expresses herself through her clothing and who can identify with cultures across the world. As a result, designs are not inspired in region or ethnicity, but rather geared towards a nomadic, global customer. “People—and Turkish people, especially—are nomadic; it is stamped on our souls,” Nejla reflected. While most of her customers are currently from northern Europe—particularly Sweden and Switzerland —Nejla hoped to dramatically broaden the brand’s reach over time. Indeed, she was confident about the brand’s “stickiness” with con sumers. “Once you wear organic, you never turn back,” she said confidently, emphasizing the importance of forging a relationship with the consumer. The Nej customer seeks timeless designs that integrate harmonious color schemes, allowing the brand to find its niche in a neither high nor low fashion segment.

Organic Fabrics

According to the Organic Trade Association,

By contrast, organic fibers are those that are produced without the use of pesticides or synthetic chemicals, with organic cotton being the most common organic fiber. Organic advocates cite benefits of the reduced environmental impact and elimination of the harmful effects of pesticides on communities that organic production brings. In its 2010 Global Report, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) cited the staggering statistics with regard to the impact of pesticides on human life:

The Green Directory, Australia’s authority on sustainability, echoed the grim statistics:

In light of the risks of conventional production methods, organic cotton production has experienced significant growth over the past decade, driven by increased consumer demand and brand commitment to “going green.” According to the Organic Exchange, a non-profit that seeks to promote organic practices in the textile value chain, from 2001 to 2009 the organic cotton market experienced an average annual growth rate of 40 percent.⁴ In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the market for organic cotton grew from $1.9 billion to $3.2 billion to $4.3 billion, respectively, with production in over twenty countries.⁵

The organization’s 2009 Farm and Fiber Report further notes that, despite the global economic crisis, global organic cotton production grew 20 percent to 175,113 metric tons and 253,000 hectares in 2008–2009.⁶ Turkey is the largest organic producer globally, according to the Organic Trade Association, followed by India and the U.S.⁷

In establishing a 100 percent organic business, finding affordable organic partners was a challenge for Nej. As a growing business, Nej initially could not afford the raw materials for its premium brand, and thus sought out three prominent organic fabric producers with whom the company could craft a mutually beneficial arrangement: Yesim Tekstil, Soktas and Bossa would provide complimentary fabrics for all of Nej’s fashions, and in return Nej would distribute the producers’ research studies (indeed, brochures are scattered throughout the Nej studio), promote the manufacturers at trade fairs and prominently display their labels on the finished goods. This arrangement has proved to be an extremely valuable component of Nej’s operations and has lasted to this day. A fourth organic manufacturer, Mertipek, works with the brand as well, though Nej pays for the materials it uses, unlike its relationships with other producers.

Securing Funding

In Nej’s infancy, an early source of funding that the company exploited to support its design business came through the consulting services that the company offered. In a major breakthrough for the brand, Nej was selected in 2002 to provide consulting services for Turquality, a govern ment-sponsored development program. The program seeks to strengthen Turkish brands and “create a positive image of Turkish products”⁸ by recommending “advisors” (i.e., consultants) to each selected brand. The campaign’s slogan—“10 Brands in 10 Years”—is suggestive of its goal to promote ten local Turkish brands over the course of a decade.

After a thorough and highly competitive 1.5-year application process, Nej was selected for this consultant role. Nej benefits from its involvement in this initiative both financially and from a public relations perspective; brands receiving consulting services compensate Nej and in return are reimbursed by the govern ment for the fee paid to Nej and other advisors. The funds that Nej has raised through this process have been critical in supporting the company’s core design business, especially in its early years.

Between 2002 and 2004, Nej produced primarily for local Turkish boutiques in order to strengthen its brand name. Still, with long-term goals to broaden the brand’s geographic reach, the Nej team needed additional funding to participate in the international trade fairs which are critical to securing orders and establishing relationships with distribution partners.

Securing govern ment support was one of the most difficult aspects of growing the business in its infancy. Nejla recalled the impact of the Turkish economic landscape on the company’s quest for funding.

Despite this challenge, in 2003 Nej applied for govern ment funding.

The year-long application process proved worthwhile, as Nej was just one of ten brands approved for funding by the General Secretariat of the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Union (ITKIB) in 2004. Through ITKIB, approved brands such as Nej are able to gain funding to attend the trade shows which are so crucial to the growth and continuity of the business. ITKIB pays for half of the designers’ costs of attending the fair, while the Foreign Commerce Undersecretariat of Turkey pays for the balance.

Through the support of ITKIB, Nej has secured enough financial backing to attend the costly international trade fairs that are invaluable opportunities to secure orders and establish distribution partnerships. While early orders were relatively small, Güvenç and her team were not discouraged, even accepting orders at a loss in order to forge relationships with customers. By virtue of the relatively small population of organic apparel consumers, the manufacturers that Nej could work with were limited to those that could accommodate smaller order quantities than the mass merchants required. Still, over time, order quantities increased significantly enough to yield a profit; Nej currently secures an average of fifteen orders per trade fair and institutes price and quantity minimums. The company is able to avoid inventory carrying costs by operating on a make to order basis.

Marketing the Brand

Nej’s marketing strategy, while somewhat unconventional, has served to bolster the brand’s core customer base and solidify its stature as a premium label. Rather than choosing the direct advertising route, Nej markets its fashions primarily through interviews and participation in or sponsorship of public events. As Nejla noted, “Customers should feel the need to know us, rather than us finding them.”

Güvenç has promoted the brand indirectly through appearances on television (she guest-judged the Turkish version of Project Runway), radio (she recently launched her very own talk show), digital media and parties. Moreover, appearances at trade fairs in Paris, Tokyo and Berlin as well as Istanbul are utilized to educate potential future customers about the virtues of organic apparel.

Nej has also been quick to leverage digital media, building up a robust Facebook page with frequent updates on the brand. The company’s own website was still under development in 2011, though Nejla does not foresee e-commerce becoming a main pillar of the company’s business model, as the company’s make to order model does not allow for carrying inventory.

Organic fabrics are generally known to be priced at a premium relative to conventional fabrics due to their more costly production process, but supporters of organic cite the long-term environmental and personal benefits of organic fibers in justifying their higher price.⁹ Nej is no exception to this practice; its fashions are premium-priced, partially by virtue of their higher production costs compared to non-organic apparel, and partially to maintain an exclusivity around the brand.

Nej currently enjoys a strong position in the Turkish organic apparel market; no other fashion house produces 100 percent organic, and Güvenç estimated that her closest competitors produce only 5 percent organic. The brand’s strong point of differentiation and its unique philosophy render it well positioned to compete in a market which will likely see more saturation in the next several decades. Still, Nejla acknowledged the virtues of competition in growing the figurative pie: “Rivals are good because it will make us better known—there may be strength in numbers. We are just one color of the rainbow.”

Nejla and her brand have gradually built a growing international following with a particularly strong presence in northern Europe and Japan, due in large part to the brand’s growing presence at trade shows, festivals and fashion weeks across the globe. Her collections have been successfully launched in Turkey, France, England, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Greece, Benelux, Israel and Korea. Nejla’s popularity as a designer has grown so much that she is known in celebrity circles and has clothed the likes of Madonna. She is an administrative board member of the Turkey Fashion and Ready-to-Wear Federation and an administrative member of the Fashion Designer’s Association of Turkey.

The Nej consulting practice has also grown considerably, providing trend reports to customers, brand consulting and collection consulting for clients such as Zara (Spain), Zapa (Paris), Ecru (Paris), Rogan (New York), Chrisjansenes (Brussels), Iro (Paris), Gloria Estelles (Spain), Pierre Cardin (Paris), Hugo Boss (Germany), Gap (USA), Nike (USA), Banana Republic (USA), Massimo Dutti (Spain), and Nergis Holding (Yesim Tekstil San.Tic. A.S.) (Turkey).

The Future of Nej

Well aware of the intense scrutiny with which consumers now evaluate their purchases, Nejla attributed her fashions’ high quality and timeless style to their continued success at a time when customers are cutting back on retail expenditures. Nej’s strong relationships with its customers and the philosophical influence in its designs, she explained, have helped the brand weather the storm.

While nearly all businesses have been hit by the recent global economic crisis, Nejla remained confident about her company’s resilience. “Opportunities are born out of crises,” she noted, reflecting the trials of her own career and the criticism she endured upon leaving Beymen. “There’s a French saying that artists’ lives are difficult because being creative happens in times of crisis.” Indeed, Nej’s success demonstrates that past trials have only served to spur the growth that the company has experienced over the past decade.

While Nejla is passionate about the virtues of organic materials, she acknowledged that it would not be realistic for organic materials to penetrate all consumer product categories. Nevertheless, she hopes to expand her fashions to include organic sleepwear, lingerie, swimwear, and possibly fragrances. “It balances your energy while you’re sleeping,” she explained of organic sleepwear.

“The brand is like your baby,” Nejla reflected with an infectious smile, as she sipped a Turkish coffee. “The workplace is like a marriage—for better or worse, you stick with it.” Indeed, this determination to prevail explains much of her success in growing Nej over the past decade. Nejla cited her relationships with family, friends and her trusted employees as the main pillars of her success and the drivers behind her ability to compete in the cut-throat fashion business. Unsurprisingly, she also considered interpersonal difficulties—and not necessarily competition or other external market factors—the biggest challenge in growing a business. Still, she cringed at the thought of her business as an “accomplishment,” explaining that to say something is an accomplishment is to imply it is finished— and she is always trying to do more. Her greatest fear is that life will not be long enough to realize her dream of growing the brand to compete with the likes of Chanel, LVMH and other world-renowned fashion houses.

“At the end of each day,” Nejla reflected,

For now, those bigger and better things mean focusing on key near-term goals for the Nej brand, such as establishing a stronger presence in the Japanese and northern European markets, expanding into new organic product categories, and reconciling the make-to-order business model to an increasingly e-commerce-oriented marketplace.