Competitiveness of ready made clothing industry in Turkey: An evaluation on branding

The ready made industry can be described as one of the important tools of the concept of competitiveness. As of today, with the impact of globalization, manufacturers are competing not only with businesses located in their countries, but also with other companies working in the same line of business worldwide. Economic situations and a changing competition system can make it more difficult for businesses and countries to compete. The ability of a business to be competitive can depend on such elements as the ability of businesses to deliver to their buyers as quickly as possible by offering the best pricing and manufacturing their products in the most qualified way. Especially since 1980, Turkey has become one of the leading countries in textile and ready-to-wear clothing in the global market with its export-oriented, opening-up strategy. The Turkish ready-to-wear garment sector contributes to Turkey's economic growth with the employment it creates and the export activities it realizes. The importance of branding is emphasized in order for the ready-to-wear sector to continue its presence in the market and provide competitive advantage. In this study, some features of various publications and documents related to the concept of branding were examined within the framework of questions and examined by bibliometric analysis method and various findings were obtained. Because brands are in competition today, brand power impacts product differentiation and market. The importance of branding is focused on ensuring that the apparel sector can also continue its market presence and achieve competitive advantage. To explain the impact of competitiveness on sectors, the Diamond Model by Michael E. Porter is one of the most utilized approaches. In line with this approach, companies are implementing various applications, both within and outside the company, by making some improvements in manufacturing processes in order to become competitive. The aim of this thesis is to interpret the competitiveness of Turkey's apparel industry within the scope of Michael E. Porter's Diamond Model, in the context of branding and to conduct a bibliometric analysis. In this context, with the analysis of Porter's Diamond Model, predictions have been made about the apparel sector and its development. It is aimed to contribute to the literature by conducting a study to determine the effect of the concept of branding on competitiveness in the apparel sector. In the light of the findings obtained in this research, it is seen that Turkey, primarily as the European Union, needs to increase productivity by giving importance to technological developments, R&D studies in order to maintain its competitiveness in the global platform.