DeFacto brings the retailing concept of the future to Turkey
Poised to become a world brand in accessible fashion, DeFacto pioneers digitalization of the retail and ready wear sector with its smart store concept. The company broke new ground and brought to life the smart store concept in the fashion field at Akasya Mall. Thanks to smart screens, users will be able to examine digital copies of all products within a minute and purchase any outfit immediately.
DeFacto, a leading brand in Turkey's ready wear sector, ushered a new era in the retailing field. Setting off with an eye to pioneer the digitalization of the retail and ready wear sector, the company broke new ground in Turkey with its newly opened store at Akasya Mall, Istanbul. In the smartest fashion store visitors will have a quick, easy and comfortable experience, thanks to robot sales consultants and digital smart mirrors.
'All options are on the screen at the same time'
At DeFacto Digital Smart Store, robots will greet shoppers, and direct them on how to use the system. Thanks to smart mirrors at changing rooms, users will easily be able to examine any product they would like to buy. They will be able to see different size and color options and have a digital shopping experience in this way.
Moreover, the smart store will not have any cash desk. Customers will be able to purchase products by paying via automatic check-out or through kiosks. They will be able to purchase products from their preferred address within one day without paying shipment fees and carrying bags. Additionally, they will also be able to get them from another DeFacto store one hour later. The store will be completely paperless, thus natural resources will also be preserved.
'We lead the digital transformation in the sector'
DeFacto CEO Ihsan Ates said in his statement about the smart store concept that local software underpins the digital transformation journey of the company. Emphasizing that they founded a technology company soon after DeFacto itself was founded, Ate? said: "DeFacto set off with the vision becoming a global fashion brand. Today, we continue to grow with more than 500 stores in 30 countries including Turkey, and a workforce of 14,000 employees. DeFacto Teknoloji, our R&D company with more than 100 Turkish engineers, is developing our own digital business model to reach our global targets. To date, we created the retail software that use artificial intelligence. We realized local projects such as omni-channel, e-commerce and store integration and fully automated depot. In this way, in addition to being a company producing fashion, DeFacto also was able to produce the technology it needs internally. At DeFacto Digital Smart Store that we open as of today, the whole shopping process is offered through a fully digital infrastructure. With an area of 180 square meters, this is the smallest store of DeFacto, but also the one with most product types. We consider this concept a long-term business plan, rather than a trial."
'Digital transformation journey integrated with the digital generation'
Ates continued by saying: "As you know, the retail sector gets its share of developing technologies and evolves toward the digital world rapidly. In the future, technologies in the Augmented Reality (AR) and artificial intelligence fields will encompass our lives. And we prepare accordingly. Very soon, we will open store concepts with no products, only areas for trying on, where we will immediately see outfits on us, using screens that can recommend sizes."
Expressing that they aimed to offer a shopping experience where online and offline channels suitable for preferences of digital generations are integrated into each other, Ates said: "In our smart store, we offer extra personalized service regarding fashion, style and model. With the DeFacto Digital Smart concept we developed in Turkey, we want to open stores throughout the world. In this way, not only will we ensure the digital transformation of our stores, but also be able to test new technologies. By this means, we will have formed a digital ecosystem. We want to be the leader in digital transformation in the retail store field, both in Turkey and throughout the world."
About DeFacto
- We opened our first store in Istanbul in 2005. In line with our vision of becoming an international fashion brand in accessible fashion, we opened our first store abroad in Kazakhstan in 2012. We continued our investments and reached 100 stores abroad in 2017.
- We see this as a major success story in terms of both our brand and the Turkish garment industry.
- Together with our experienced design team and collaborations, we are adding designs that are compatible with world trends to our affordable and high quality products.
- With our design office which provides significant added value in terms of creative marketing strategies and an innovative point of view, we prepare designs suited to the countries in which we operate.
- As DeFacto, we are a company that has the vision of being “the global fashion brand that makes you go WOW”, which stands our with an innovative and dynamic viewpoint on the sector, and which has adopted the principle of continuous development.
More than 500 stores in 30 Countries with 14.000+ employees
As DeFacto, we are continuing our operations with more than 500 stores in 30 countries including Turkey, Oman, TRNC, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Jordan, Tunisia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova, Palestine, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Dagestan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Ukraine and Romania.
