‘I enjoy this beautiful country’: Turkish expat on living, working in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — European appliances brand Beko recently welcomed Alper Yildirim as its new country director for the Philippines.

Known for his democratic and inclusive work approach, Yildirim has over 20 years of experience in the appliance and manufacturing sector, making him develop a strong reputation in the industry for problem-solving.

Yildirim graduated from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, where he obtained both his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career in 2003 in Targaz Natural Gas Systems as the Manager of Import & Export before joining Arçelik A.S. in 2005 as an Executive in Sales. 

He later served as product manager at Arçelik A.S. / Grundig Nordic No A.S. and was promoted to director of product management at Arçelik A.S. / Beko LLC. He successfully launched several brands in Southeast Asia and Australia, gaining valuable insights into different cultures and retail systems, which he now utilizes to develop products for diverse markets.

In his most recent role as country director for Beko Vietnam in 2022, he gained further insights, especially as he assumed the position just as the COVID-19 pandemic was coming toward its end. He played a crucial role in transitioning the office back to normal operations and launching the kitchen category in a challenging market that had experienced a 20% decline in some areas the previous year.

Known for experimenting with new methods and encouraging his teams to view failure as a learning opportunity, Yildirim leads inclusively, upholding directness and honesty. 

In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Yildirim shared how it is living and working in the Philippines, as well as his mission and vision as new Beko Philippines country director.

“It’s always, you know, one of the most beautiful countries in the world… the nature is really fantastic and I personally, and my family, we love the nature, so we are thrilled to be here,” said Yildirim, who has been going in and out of the country since 2006.

“The Philippines changed because… the first time I came to the Philippines was in 2006, between 2006 and 2008 I was responsible for the region, so I’ve been coming to the country. There was no BGC (Bonifacio Global City) like this when I was coming, so it changed. It’s getting better.”

The company’s local office is in BGC, where Yildirim and his family also lives.

“I’m avoiding the biggest problem we have, the traffic, so I can walk from my office. So kids and my wife also, they settled well. They’re going to international school.”

The Philippines has been the fifth country that Yildirim and his family has moved in, so living abroad is not new to them.

“It’s hard to leave the comforts behind because in order to learn, you need to be open. So if you can do it, then I think the rest is much easier,” he enthused.

Besides BGC, Yildirim and his family have traveled to different parts of the country.

“I have been to several places. I have been to several cities. I’ve been to Mindoro, Boracay, Mindanao as well different parts of Mindanao.”

In general, he found it “quite easy” living and working in the country.

“The Philippines is beautiful, you know, there are millions of things to do. And people are lovely as well. I think it’s one of those countries where you feel really welcome. People are more or less happy overall.”

He shared some reasons why he loves working in the country.

“First of all, because majority of the people can speak English really very good, the communication is easier, even with, you know, regional teams in the stores because I really love to go and discuss with store staff, sales staff, promoters about the reality of the business. Then it’s easy because then I can communicate with it very often.”

Because the country speaks good English, he found it easier to market the brand.

“Of course, we are a bit lucky as well because… the Philippines is very connected with the world. So Filipino people are all around the world and those people, they know people well, of course. So we are not starting… from ground zero…”

He also loves the work culture in the country.

“Overall, it’s not only about business, but the overall country, the culture is really nice. People are quite welcoming. They love to socialize as well. It’s really good attribute for a country to have, you know, because that it is easy for everybody to fit in. And I enjoy this beautiful country,” he declared.

“In global organizations like this, one of the main challenges is the communication between the different parts of the world because even though you are in the same company, the culture is different. The business culture in Philippines is different versus the factories that we have versus HQ (headquarters) that we have and communication is key, and I think most of the time. Having an expert in a country, that’s your main responsibility. We need to make sure that the message that we are trying to give from our office here is really in a correct way in the age group and vice versa as well.”

Even as a market for their company, the country hold promise, he said.

“The Philippines is an interesting market for us. There are some challenges because it’s (the brand) 60 years, so from product point of view, we need to come up with the full portfolio, which means all the products need to be designed different, tested different. So that was the most challenging part, but other than that, it’s really very promising for us.”

The country’s young population creates more opportunities for business, he said.

“This is a country which is evolving, going forward with a young energetic population, which is already a part of the world, you know, there is a lot of trade going on. There are a lot of Filipinos all around the world, so those Filipinos are the ones who choose our brand first because they know it from the countries they have to live in. We are already the market leader in Europe in a lot of different countries around the world. In our portfolio, we have 22 brands. We have more than 45 factories now with the opening of our Egypt brands for six factories, so we have the leadership in a lot of countries, and that’s our ultimate goal as well.”

As new country director, something new that he is bringing to the brand is his experience from different markets.

“Different challenges, not of course, it’s not about copying those solutions, but it’s about a point of view because… I’m very open-minded about all kinds of opportunities and challenges point of view. So that’s the culture and I’m trying to also bring in fun as well.”

His vision for the brand as its new Country Director is “to make sure that is in top three brands in the hearts and minds of Filipino consumers, and that’s actually that’s my mission as well.”

According to him, what makes their brand No. 1 in Europe is because they always listen to their customers. 

“There are a lot of things, but I think the main thing is the ability to read the consumers and the partners. So that when you are able to listen, which is really harder than it seems, then you can really find the solutions. But it’s a long journey, you know, when I joined the company back was not number one. I really saw it first how it step by step became number one in Europe… because currently we’re the only European brand that offers a full line of products.”

Despite the brand being in the local market for almost 10 years already, he admitted that Japanese brands are still stronger here in terms of appliances. 

“Our initial strategy is really to be perceived as an affordable European brand. So initially, our price positioning is just a little below the Korean brands, so almost a part of the Korean brands, but definitely higher than the China.”

Among his strategies to reach more Filipino consumers are through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs like fun runs and distributing Christmas gift baskets to less fortunate families in communities.

“So mostly, it’s more on giving that to the consumer. So whatever we enjoy, also support, is coming from the customer. We also try to give them that whatever support we can, to help this consumer and not only to promote the brand, but more importantly, is to show them how we care as a manufacturer.”