“There is no customer who is more delicate than a Turkish bride on her wedding day”:

Kerem Ögretmen from Mayer Mümessillik on anticipating customer demands and in a second-generation family business.
As a second-generation member of Mayer Mümessillik, Kerem Öğretmen combines family legacy with fresh perspectives to drive success in Turkey’s textile industry. Founded in 1993 by his father Mr. Ahmet M. Öğretmen, the boutique agency represents leading brands like Mayer & Cie. and the flat knitting machine manufacturer Stoll. The Istanbul-based company employs 21 people.
With a background in industrial engineering, a stint in IT auditing, and even a career as a wedding photographer, Kerem brings a unique blend of analytical expertise, creativity and customer understanding to the business. In this interview, he reflects on the company’s history, his own journey back into the family enterprise and the challenges and opportunities of operating in today’s dynamic textile market.

Your father started the company? Can you talk about the history a bit, please?
In 1976, my father moved to Germany to study textile engineering at Reutlingen University. At the time, many Turkish parents sent their children to Germany for better education, and Germany welcomed this. Learning German from scratch was a significant challenge for him, but the experience shaped him profoundly. After graduating in 1983, he returned to Turkey and worked at a spinning mill before joining an agency representing Mayer & Cie. in 1988. During that time, he developed a close relationship with the company and its machines, which he’d already encountered during his studies.
In 1993, he took the leap and founded his own company, becoming Mayer & Cie.’s exclusive representative in Turkey. Over the years, he took direct part and also supervised the sales of thousands of circular knitting machines. My father focuses on circular knitting, while his business partner, Kahraman Güveri, who joined in 2002, specializes in both circular and flat knitting.

That really is an impressive legacy. Can you talk about your own background? When did you join the company?
I studied industrial engineering, a path that was undoubtedly influenced by my father’s career. After graduating in 2009, I joined the family business. However, I had other passions to explore, particularly photography. Together with my wife, I worked as a wedding photographer for three to four years, which we both enjoyed immensely.

You initially left the family business. What made you come back?
Even while pursuing photography, I felt a sense of responsibility toward Mayer Mümessillik. Over time, I realized that my education—especially my analytical and programming skills, as well as my proficiency in English—wasn’t being fully utilized. At the same time, I noticed opportunities to improve processes within the company, particularly in digitalization. So I decided to return and contribute.

Can you give us an example of such a project that made you feel the “call of duty”?
For instance, we introduced a whole new follow-up system. Instead of an old-fashioned review form on paper which needed a dedicated person’s attention for evaluation 3-4 days every month, all our technicians work with this database and the corresponding evaluation takes a few hours only now. This makes service more efficient.

With the help of Mayer & Cie., we are diving into digitizing further processes, e.g. CRM tools. We want our sales team to profit from this system. Obviously, that needs some getting used to and our colleagues need to receive good training to feel comfortable working with the tools.

Was it challenging to reintegrate into the family business?
Absolutely. I had been away from the technical side, so my uncle Mr. Fikret Öğretmen helped me catch up on technical knowledge. He had his education in Germany on technical textiles and he is also a founder partner, serving Mayer & Cie from the very beginning. Thanks to his enthusiasm and dedication we are today selling and serving machines also in many other countries from Algeria Relizane to Ethiopia Addis Ababa.

Mr. T. Kahraman Güveri supported me in navigating the company culture, guiding me in understanding industry-specific terms in English and Turkish. He is also a textile engineer from one of the most reputable universities in Turkey and joined my father in 2002 with his already gained experience in the industry. Only a few hard-working years after he became a partner to my father.

Mr. Refik Yıldırım introduced me to our market and introduced me to those days’ conditions. He is in the field most of the time and his previous experiences with unique customer relations are invaluable to us.

Having my textile engineer cousin Atakan Öğretmen as a part of the crew, handling today’s all the spare parts orders for both agencies, makes the atmosphere much warmer for me overall.

In what way do you benefit from your previous professional experiences in your job at MMÜ?
I was into wedding photography with my wife. Especially when working with somebody so close to you, you need to make sure everyone has his or her own duties and responsibilities. You cannot have a say in every area. That’s not helpful and it’s not respectful to your partner and colleague. You might feel responsible for the whole company, but still, everyone has their own way of tackling with challenges – and you have to respect that.

Second thing I learnt in wedding photography was how to treat your customer. There is no customer more delicate than a Turkish bride on her wedding day. That was a great training for me. I learnt it is essential to anticipate a customer’s demands. For the bride, you need to know what she wants even before she knows herself. This mindset also helps me in textile business.

At ITM exhibition in 2022 in İstanbul, our booth was decorated with fabric images I had photographed. It was a small but satisfying reminder of my photography days and how those skills continue to shape my work today.
Times are difficult.

What would you identify as major challenges for you in Turkey and for your company?
The economic crisis in Turkey and geopolitical tensions are major hurdles. With wars on both our northern and southern borders, people and companies worldwide are cautious about spending and investing. While we can’t control these external factors, we can use this quieter period to improve our internal processes and prepare for the future.

How to overcome these challenges? What’s Mayer & Cie.’s role?
Mayer & Cie.’s commitment to quality is unmatched. Their machines stand out for their durability and production consistency. While inflation and rising energy costs make German products more expensive, we count on Mayer & Cie.’s engineering innovations to maintain a balance between quality and affordability.

Beyond current challenges: What’s your vision for the future?
We’re a boutique agency that values quality over quantity. We represent only a select few companies, but they are the best in their fields. If the opportunity arises to represent another brand that aligns with our standards, we’d consider it. Until then, we’ll continue giving our all for our existing partners.