Hürriyet / Bigpara: Severance Pay Became the Starting Capital
Updated: 9 hours ago
Founded by Şafak Çivici, who originally came to Kayseri as a bride, and her husband İbrahim Çivici, the company manufactures chairs and bedsteads. Sefes Mobilya ve Ev Donanımları Ltd., which generates 3.5 million liras of its 8 million lira revenue from exports, has a workforce of 60 employees. The company, which will soon move to its own facility, exports to Europe and the Middle East. Şafak Çivici shares her story as follows:
I AM THE DAUGHTER OF A GUEST WORKER
"I was born in Germany in 1964. My father is from Çanakkale, and my mother is from Sivas. My first husband was from Kayseri, which is how I came to Kayseri. My current husband is from Söke, Aydın. I am a mother of three. I graduated from high school in Germany. My father went to Germany in 1962 as a guest worker. He earned his living there as an auto mechanic. I am the daughter of a guest worker, and I returned to Türkiye in 1992 as a 'translator and interpreter.' I had started working in Germany at the age of 18. When I returned to Türkiye, I immediately found a job at a US company and started working. I worked as a professional translator."
I Started with Hand-Woven Carpets
Şafak Çivici continued: "We used to collect and export old Turkish hand-woven carpets. We loved carpets, and in 1997, we founded a company to expand this business. It became increasingly difficult to find good products in the carpet business, but we continued this work until 2003 and built up some capital. However, our real starting capital came from my $18,000 severance pay and the severance pay my husband received when he retired from the Air Force. With the 60,000 Euros we gathered this way, we established our business. In 2002, a German company requested chairs from us for an Italian client. We manufactured 60,000 chairs in batches of 20,000 over one year. It was a flat-pack (RTA) chair, and this continued until 2007. Later, we started producing chairs and bedsteads directly for other European customers. Eventually, with the addition of other products, we became a fully export-oriented company."
TO LEARN RETAIL
"While we were primarily working on exports, we also wanted to enter the domestic market, so in 2006, we took a franchise from 'Çilek Mobilya' and opened a store. We learned retail from Çilek. Later, we opened two stores under our own brand. Currently, we employ 60 people and will soon move to our own building. Last year, we had a revenue of 8 million liras, of which 3.5 million liras came from exports. It looks like it will be about the same this year. We currently export to countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan. In recent years, we have also started taking on project-based work. 25 percent of our revenue now comes from this sector. We manufacture comprehensive furniture solutions for hotels. Our annual capacity is 7,000-8,000 chairs and an equivalent of about 3,000 bedsteads."
I am the boss of the company, we are growing
SEFES Mobilya Chairman of the Board Şafak Çivici states, "I manage our company. I already hold the majority of the shares with 52 percent. Together with my husband's shares, our family's stake is 90 percent. And we have a third minority partner who naturally has a say in the company. We work in great harmony, and thankfully, we continue to grow." Source
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