Interview with Bozkurt Şişman, Turkey Sales and Marketing Director of İdaş

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Bozkurt Şişman, Sales and Marketing Director of İdaş. Şişman shared İdaş's founding story with us and provided information about new products.

Could you briefly tell our readers about yourself, your education and your professional background in the sector?

I graduated from the Economics Department at Koç University and completed my master's degree at UCI Irvine University in the United States. I started my career at Salvin Nonwoven. Since 2016, I have been working at İdaş, which is among our group companies. I have been serving as Sales Director for one and a half years. I am responsible for organizing business development, sales and marketing departments.

Could you tell us about İdaş's success story from its founding to today?

İdaş is one of Turkey's most valuable brands. Over the past 50 years, we have witnessed many firsts achieved by İdaş. Our Bozüyük factory, currently located on 70,000 m2 of land, carries out spring construction, foam manufacturing, as well as the production of beds, bases, headboards and metal furniture through a modernized integrated production park. Today, İdaş takes pride in being a pioneer of firsts and innovations in spring bed production. Since its founding, İdaş has produced beds for millions of consumers and major hotel chains, successfully becoming the sought-after brand in the spring bed and sleep products sector and maintaining this status for half a century.

Branding is a very important process for companies; could you share İdaş's journey to becoming a brand with us?

Founded in 1965, İdaş began production in 1967 at its Istanbul Topkapı factory and continued production at the Bozüyük factories established in 1976. In 1993, it added superior spring technologies containing American patented classic special spring systems to its portfolio. By 1994, it obtained its first TS-ISO 9002 certificate, becoming the first company to have a quality assurance system. Starting from the beginning of 2000, Istanbul and Bursa production were transferred to the Bozüyük factory. That same year, it introduced pocket spring manufacturing and the PocketFlex series of pocket spring beds to its customers. By 2003, it developed its first washable cover beds using memory foam, also known as space technology, Visco. In 2007, it developed climate-featured products offering cooler sleep with Climarelle technology. In 2017, it used Mira-Pocket and Weightless Relaxation spring technologies for the first time. It introduced beds with superior comfort features that adapt to all body structures and all sleeping positions.

Could you provide information about İdaş's foam product groups?

With laboratory facilities that meet world standards, İdaş benefits from the experience of its sister company SALTEKS A.Ş., which has been operating in the field of filling materials since the 1940s. In addition to its rich product variety, İdaş stands out with its Woolmark Rich Blend®, Organic Cotton and Oeko-Tex 100 certified natural products. It manufactures foam, which is a highly important filling material, in its own foam production facility using special formulas without other filling materials.

Could you provide information about your polyurethane foam production technologies?

İdaş has been producing polyurethane foam since the beginning of 1977. Since then, it has continued polyurethane foam production with the highest level of technological capabilities in its laboratories.

Could you provide information about your export activities?

While completing our domestic structure, we aim to make investments over the next decade to become a global brand. While accelerating our domestic structure, we are primarily conducting preparatory work for our international structure. We are conducting studies aimed at gaining experience in Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East regions. In this regard, we are preparing investment plans to develop both our human resources, production infrastructure and distribution channels accordingly.

In all sectors, e-commerce is gaining momentum along with digital transformation. What are your activities in this area?

We believe e-commerce is the path to success in the future. We attach importance to customer experience and are continually innovating in this regard. We aim to provide our customers with a more enjoyable shopping environment. We have a roadmap that we aim to implement very strongly, in line with our company's growth policy. We aim to make a significant leap through effective organization and planning. Offering our customers the right product range in terms of quality, variety and comfort through both traditional retail and e-commerce channels is among our priority areas. While placing customer experience at the center, we ensure that our visitors experience the same journey both online and in our stores.

"Since its founding, İdaş has produced beds for millions of consumers and major hotel chains, successfully becoming the sought-after brand in the spring bed and sleep products sector and maintaining this status for half a century."

How many stores do you have in Turkey? In which regions are you primarily located?

We have an extensive sales network consisting of 220 concept İdaş Showrooms with franchise status and approximately 300 corner stores, particularly in small cities and towns. Provinces with high population density are also the regions with the highest sales figures. However, beyond the concentration of sales numbers, we take care to shape our sales network to reach even the most difficult to access regions and conduct our work in this manner. We have over 500 sales points distributed throughout Turkey. We experience the pride of being a national brand.

Could you tell us about the design process of your products?

Design is among the subjects we prioritize most in our products. The designs of our products are highly appreciated by our customers. Using a variety of functional and innovative fabrics, we create beds that receive acclaim in terms of design and comfort. Our Crystal bed, which is the result of an important R&D project, won the "2017 IFM Design Award."