‘Women to Watch: Women Who Make a Difference’ ceremony was held at Swissotel The Bosphorus, Istanbul.
Established by Gülden and Yılmaz Yılmaz, 50 percent of Koton’s shares were sold for approximately 500 million dollars last year. According to Yılmaz, the secret to creating such a brand value is to devote yourself and make intelligent use of the opportunities that arise.
Gülden Yılmaz, Koton, Founder
After starting her career path by opening a store selling export leftovers with a teacher friend in Kuzguncuk in 1989, Gülden Yılmaz didn’t imagine that she would become the founder of a brand that today is one of Turkey’s leading stores in the retail clothing industry. She didn’t plan for the boutique she opened to make use of her summer vacation to become what is now known as Koton. Yılmaz describes those days by saying, “Since I was a teacher, my summer vacation was quite extended. The idea was born to open up a boutique just to make use of our summer vacation. Business was very good for three months, and I realized that I liked the retail market and could continue on this path. In short, when I saw that this was an option as a career change, I wanted to make use of the opportunity.”
When asked about the turning points in her career, the successful entrepreneur says it’s impossible for her to think of her career as separate from Koton: “This is why the second store we opened in Beşiktaş in 1991 and the crisis of 2001 were turning points both in my career and for Koton,” she says. When it comes to her career, she proudly emphasizes the importance of her husband and business partner Yılmaz Yılmaz’s support and constant standing by her side.
So how did Gülden Yılmaz come to achieve all of this? After the 2001 crisis, when many big companies were downsizing and the small ones were reaching the brink of bankruptcy, Yılmaz decided to create “Big Koton Store Concepts” as well as to extend and increase investments for stores in Anatolia. She positions Koton as a “fast fashion” brand and enacts a strategy of “great variety.” At the end of the crisis, Koton became a well-known brand in Turkey, a leader of its sector that obtained its first application for a franchise abroad.
Gülden Yılmaz says she is a passionate, ambitious perfectionist who is detail-oriented in both her professional and private lives, stating that she wants to enjoy life but adding: “I cannot stand the words ‘unavailable’ and ‘no’ in my professional life.”
Like all successful women who make a difference, Yılmaz’s family plays an important role in her life. She tries hard to spend quality time with her family and makes extended travel plans. Yılmaz’s advice to those who are just starting their careers is to do something different when taking on a new job. Yılmaz states that patience, perseverance and motivation must never falter, emphasizing that the key to success is to love your job passionately and devote yourself to it, no matter what it is.
“My advice to entrepreneurs is to do something different from everyone else when taking on a new job; if they are going to do something similar, add something different and some efficacy to it.”
