Merinos, one of the companies of Erdemoğlu Holding, which undersigns 7 out of every 100 carpets sold in the world, has left its Chinese competitors behind in the American and European markets. The company, which weaves approximately 40 million square meters of carpets annually and increases its capacity with new investments, will be offered to the public in mid-2025.

Merinos, whose foundations were laid by the late father Mehmet Erdemoğlu in the 1970s by purchasing two rug looms, has become one of the world's leading carpet manufacturers today. The company, which sells to 82 countries, has a 7 percent share in the world carpet market. In other words, 7 out of every 100 carpets sold in the world come out of Merinos' plants. İbrahim Erdemoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Erdemoğlu Holding, who made a statement to journalists at Merinos' production facilities in Gaziantep, said, "We produce 1 out of every 4 carpets sold in the US, 1 out of every 3 carpets sold in Europe, and 1 out of every 4 carpets sold in Turkey."

Walmart is also its Customer

The company, which weaves carpets continuously on dozens of looms with polyester yarns it supplies from Sasa, exports 90 percent of its production. Erdemoğlu said the following about exports: "42 percent of sales are dispatched to Europe and the UK, 38 percent to the US, 12 percent to the Middle East and Africa, and 8 percent to the domestic market. The average kilogram unit price of carpet exports is 2 dollars. The biggest buyer in the US is Walmart. Many world giants purchase products from Merinos. Carpets sold to Europe cost an average of 5-7.5 dollars per square meter. Europeans and Americans replace their carpets frequently. The average carpet replacement time in those regions is six months. In machine-made carpets, the Chinese are unable to compete with Merinos because our production is more efficient."

Girding its Loins for Public Offering

Erdemoğlu Holding will offer Merinos, which weaves approximately 40 million square meters of carpets annually, to the public. İbrahim Erdemoğlu shared the following information on the subject: “The Holding will offer 25 percent of its 100 percent shares in Merinos to the public. We expect the public offering to take place in the 5th month of 2025. 50 percent of the shares to be offered to the public will be sold to foreign investors. HSBC and JP Morgan are conducting work on this subject. A roadshow regarding the public offering will also be held in London soon. After the year-end balance sheet is made clear, we will apply to the Capital Markets Board (CMB). Half of the resulting resource will be added to Merinos’ capital, and the other half will be transferred to the holding company. We plan to transfer some of this resource to Sasa.”

Asset Value: 2 Billion Dollars

-The details standing out of Erdemoğlu's statements are as follows:

-Merinos's asset value is at the level of 2 billion dollars.

-The company currently has production facilities in three different locations. Two of them are in Gaziantep and one is in Çerkezköy/Tekirdağ.

-Merinos will close 2024 with a turnover of 530 million dollars. The export amount by the end of the year will reach 480 million dollars.

-It realized an average capacity utilization of 85 percent in 2024.

-The number of employees in factories is four thousand 700.

-The total cost of the investments made and ongoing in 2024 is approximately 275 million dollars.

1 Billion Dollar Turnover Target

The investment cost for MTR polyester chips, which will be in operation in the second half of 2025, is approximately 220 million dollars. The annual production capacity of this facility will be 350 thousand tons. The contribution of the investment to the turnover is calculated as 350-400 million dollars annually.

Following the chip investment, Merinos' 2025 turnover is expected to reach 1 billion dollars.

Merinos carries out production in an area of ​​900 thousand square meters.

50 percent of the knitwear yarn in Turkey is made by Akal Yarn, a subsidiary of Erdemoğlu.

Source of News: Posta News