15.03.2018 Ankara
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, participating in the 21st Annual Consumer Awards Ceremony of the Ministry of Customs and Commerce, emphasized the concept of “consumer democracy,” saying that the business community is in fact a consumer.
The 21st of the Traditional Consumer Awards Ceremony
organized by the Ministry of Customs and Commerce on March 15th was
held at the Green Park Hotel in Ankara. TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu,
during his speech at the ceremony hosted by the Minister of Customs and Commerce
Bülent Tüfenkci, said, “Basically, we are both business people and consumers;
both producers and consumers. Consumption necessitates production and the consumer
keeps the manufacturer in business. Our culture in particular sees the consumer
as benefactor.”
- Marketing has overtaken the cognizance
of 'benefactor'
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that marketing is increasingly important and that
the understanding of the beneficiary is lagging lbehind. He said, “At WalMart,
100,000s products are presented to the customers. It is possible to find 27
million books on Amazon. Starbucks has 87,000 different drink combinations. About
50 years ago, there were 3,000 products in an average supermarket. Now the
number is up to 30,000. Only in the category of biscuits, the number of
products was around 60-70 in 90s; now it is over 300. This onslaught of products
makes it harder for consumers to choose. Companies and producers are trying to
get ahead of the pack with different strategies. In doing so, there are also
people who resort to unfair and deceptive ways. The state's institutions and
laws have been working for years to protect the rights of consumers. But the
fact is that the consumer can only be protected by their own awareness. In this
regard, awareness is a power of the consumer as much as money is. Thanks to
this awareness they can get their money back; get rid of fraudulent, defective
goods. This awareness is to know the rights, to distinguish between good and
bad products and services. To be able to compare price and quality by using avenues
of information. Internet and social media are already offering opportunities
for conscious consumers. 60% of the economic activity is domestic consumption. As
a result, the concept of consumer democracy comes to the fore throughout the
world.”
- Consumer preferences commanding
the economy
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that every conscious consumer, by
demanding better products and making use of resources more wisely, directs the manufacturer.
Pointing out that those who do not react against dishonesty and stay silent in
the face of deception are unconscious consumers, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that this harms
both the consumer and the economy.
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, talking about the rights of
consumers, stated that it is also important to remember that consumers also have
responsibilities and that, “I consider the principle of zero tolerance against unsafe
products and the concept of ‘conscious consumer, prudent merchant’ as extremely
important and give full support. In recent years, the use of e-commerce has
increased rapidly, while e-commerce companies have also increased. In this
transformation in trade, the Ministry took the necessary steps for the
consumers not to be victims and to be able to shop with confidence. As TOBB, we
will give a confidence mark to e-commerce sites under the leadership of our
Ministry. In this way, we will provide both secure e-commerce infrastructure
and increased e-commerce volume.”
- Customs and Commerce Minister
Bülent Tüfenkci
Customs and Commerce Minister Bülent Tüfenkci said, “We want to bring
the unsafe Product Information System to life this year; we plan to have a
system that is open to the public and integrated with social media.”
Tüfenkci said that they are trying to provide efficient, fast and
human-focused services to protecting economic interests, health and safety of consumers.
Pointing out that the e-commerce sector is developing in rapidly, Tüfenkci
stated that they are taking measures to protect the consumers against the
current and future problems.
- Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa
Tuna
Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Tuna also emphasized the importance of
consumer rights with the growth of competition and said, “The number of people
who made mistakes in such an environment is too many. Consumers should be
conscious in sorting out the rotten apples in the market. We must protect the
rights of the consumer and the producer. We will continue to give all support
to the development of consumer rights. I believe that we will attain a better
future together as a conscious society.”
- Gaziantep Metropolitan Mayor
Fatma Sahin
Gaziantep Metropolitan Mayor Fatma Şahin emphasized the importance of quality
in competition in a human-oriented development model, “It is our duty to
increase consumer awareness; not only for economic development but human
development.”