Esteemed Stakeholders,
The year 2022 was a year in which the world, focused on the
pandemic recovery process, had to cope with great social
and economic challenges in the face of emerging geopolitical
developments.
The war caused significant humanitarian devastation and
disrupted economic development. As vulnerabilities have
increased, some pandemic-induced economic problems have
worsened rather than diminished. The energy crisis that
emerged in the aftermath of the sanctions led to a deepening
inflation cycle. The rapid interest rate hikes by central banks
to fight inflation have raised concerns about recession in the
global economy.
In 2022, the Turkish economy faced problems due to high
inflation, but continued to grow thanks to the positive
contribution of exports. In their reports, various international
organizations state that the Turkish economy will continue to
grow in the coming period, despite concerns of a recession in the
world economy.
With its flexible and agile structure, digital transformation
and technology-oriented business model, Vestel
successfully passed this multi-dimensional resilience test
in 2022.
As one of Türkiye’s largest consumer electronics and major
household appliances manufacturers and exporters, we
accompanied Türkiye’s growth journey in 2022 with our strong
contribution to the country’s exports. With export markets
exceeding 160 countries and our market diversification
capability, we have successfully implemented our exportoriented business model. While geopolitical developments
and rising inflation had a negative impact on demand for TVs
and major household appliances in Europe, our main export market, we still managed to increase our export volume in
major household appliances and maintain our international
sales volume in TVs, thanks to our strong product portfolio
and competitive advantages as well as the strong growth we
achieved in non-European markets. The contraction in the
domestic market in the first half of the year was replaced by
an upward trend in the second half due to low base effect and
pulled-forward demand driven by the inflationary pressures.
Our increasing strength in online and off-line retail, which
captures consumer expectations with our digital competencies,
further reinforced our position in the market. While our new
practice of authorized online dealers contributed positively
to our presence in online marketplaces, Vestel Ekspres stores,
which we rapidly increased in number and which offer a
combined physical and digital consumer experience, became
one of the pioneers of the new trend in retailing in Türkiye.
These efforts did not go unrewarded. Vestel Customer Services
and Vestel Ticaret were selected as “Türkiye’s Best Workplace”
by Kincentric, one of the world’s leading human resources and
management consultancy companies.
On the other hand, according to the 2022 “Türkiye’s Most
Valuable Brands” survey conducted by Brand Finance, an
international brand valuation consultancy, Vestel rose seven
places to rank fourth with a value of USD 720 million. This result
shows that we are on the right track and encourages us to do
better.
Towards a sustainable future with technology and humanoriented transformation
We continue to work for a sustainable future with our technology,
R&D and innovation excellence and our human-oriented
transformation strategy that supports it. Vestel’s operations
and human resources continue to be transformed in parallel with
technological developments. In this context, we utilize our R&D
and innovation excellence to introduce innovative production
processes that will reduce environmental impact. At the same
time, we continue to develop products that use resources
efficiently, provide high energy and water savings, and meet
consumers’ health and hygiene expectations. As a technology
company focusing on value-added services and digital solutions,
we are expanding our product range that contributes to
sustainability, from battery packs to in-vehicle display solutions
for the automotive sector, as well as electric vehicle chargers,
in addition to televisions and major household appliances, and
increasing our contribution to the smart living ecosystem. As one
of the founding partners of Togg, Türkiye’s automobile, we also
provide all the in-car display solutions for the vehicles produced.
We are also in talks with other automobile manufacturers
around the world. On the other hand, we are taking strong steps
towards growth with new technologies by focusing on electric
vehicle chargers, battery solutions for two-wheeled vehicles, and
energy storage systems for different areas of use, especially for
the telecom sector.
While using the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence,
the Internet of Things and autonomous systems in our factories,
with our vision of continuous improvement and digitalization, we
continue our digital transformation efforts at full speed to make
Vestel City the first production facility in Türkiye to complete the
Industry 4.0 transformation
In line with our vision of being a technology company creating
social and environmental benefits, we integrate digitalization
into both our business processes and working culture, and
the products and services we offer. In order to adapt to
digital transformation, we are also carrying out a humanoriented transformation in parallel. We adopt working models
that develop employees’ skills and increase their ability to
adapt to innovation and change. To this end, we reinforce
a work environment that will ensure that employees’ career
development is carried out through a fair and inclusive process.
We strive to adopt and introduce modern and agile methods
in all of Vestel’s operations through human-oriented working,
systemic perspective and strategic management approaches.
Talent gap or shortage is one of the most challenging problems
that companies may face in the 21st century. As an engineering
and technology company, we recognize that investing in talent
to drive technology and digitalization minimizes the risk of
talent gap or shortage. With this understanding, we are working
to spread human-oriented transformation not only to our own
human resources, but also to the whole society, taking into
account the needs of the society.
Smarter living for everyone
In line with our Smart Life 2030 sustainability strategy, we
develop human-oriented ecosystems and innovative business
models, and engage in value-creating partnerships to pioneer
sustainability-oriented products, services and solutions in
Türkiye and around the world.
Combining its sustainability approach with its IoT strategy,
Vestel promises consumers an easier and greener life with
its smart televisions as well as its environmentally friendly,
innovative and smart major household appliances that provide
high energy and water efficiency, and aim to reduce plastic
pollution. Our vision of “Smarter life for everyone” is realized
through Vestel Evin Aklı application in Turkey and VeeZy
application abroad. Thanks to the digital services we offer in
these applications and our collaborations, we provide our users
with a much more comprehensive smart life experience.
Towards a net zero company
Vestel plays an important role in the efficient use of scarce
natural resources and the fight against the climate crisis with
the steps it has taken to transition to a net zero emission
economy.
Leveraging the power of Industry 4.0 and automation,
we support the reduction of energy consumption through
operational improvements and innovative products, while
implementing circular models to increase resource efficiency in
production and reduce Vestel’s product-related environmental
impact.
We aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and are working
on our decarbonization plan as part of our commitment to set
Science Based Targets (SBTi).
The adoption of circular economy models, repair, recycling and
upcycling efforts across the entire value chain play a critical role
in preventing the global waste problem. In addition to the use
of recycled plastics and bio-based plastic materials in products
and components, our Company continues to work towards the
goal of reducing the use of plastics by improving all product
and packaging designs in cooperation with R&D and production
units.
As part of this approach, for the first time in Türkiye, we started
using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, 100% recycled
cardboard in the packaging of Vestel branded refrigerator and
dishwashers in 2021. In 2022, we introduced this practice for all
Vestel branded household appliances to be sold in Türkiye.
We maintain our hope and confidence in the future
The world is going through a period of rapid change and
transformation. As uncertainties increase, predictability
decreases. Although we may not be able to control these
conditions, we believe that we can ensure the sustainability
of our business by managing them properly. With this
understanding, through our experience, competence and
capacity to adapt to changing conditions, we will continue to
improve our ability to overcome challenges in the coming period
by using the opportunities offered by our agile and flexible
organization.
The value we create with our sustainability-oriented business
model empowers us both for our steady growth and our
contribution to social and economic development in our country
and around the world. We will continue to be a pioneer in
building a better, smarter and sustainable life with the steps we
take in cooperation with all our stakeholders.
Sincerely,
Ahmet Nazif Zorlu
Chairman
