Doğuş Holding A.Ş. is one of the largest private-sector conglomerates in Turkey, with a portfolio of 250 companies in 7 industries, including high-end car dealerships, retail stores, restaurants, cafes, construction companies, radio stations, TV channels and tourism businesses. The group used to own one of Turkey's largest private banks, Garanti, now part of BBVA.
Background
Its foundations were originally laid in 1951 when Ayhan Şahenk made his first investments in the construction sector and transformed Doğuş Construction into a leading builder of Turkish roads, ports and hospitals. Doğuş Construction was founded June 17, 1966, the same year Antur Tourism was founded and Club Alantur in Alanya was acquired. He diversified into banking in the late 1970s. While Turkey evolved from a state-controlled economy toward market capitalism in the 1980s, he branched into importing and joint ventures in automotive, tourism and food, with giants like Volkswagen, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, and ConAgra. In 1989 Ayhan Şahenk's son, Ferit Şahenk, returned to Istanbul. His father sent him to apprentice at Garanti Bank. After eight years, he moved to the holding company and has kept adding pieces. Beginning in 1998 he acquired two food retail chains and operated NTV, funding the expansion by selling part of the group's Garanti Bank to the public. Understanding that top talent is essential to running a diverse group, he also created a recruitment division, Humanitas. In 1999, annual revenue of Doğuş Group hit US$5.7 billion. In April 2001, Ferit took over Doğuş after his father Ayhan Şahenk died at the age of 72. He relinquished some control of the Garanti Bank, selling a quarter of the country's third largest bank to General Electric for $1.6 billion in 2004, which was regarded as an important step towards greater liberalization in the Turkish banking sector, which had been severely affected by the 2001 economic crisis. He also runs Turkish media properties capturing more than 10 percent of country's advertising market.
Characteristics and structure
The Doğuş Group adheres to a customer-focused and productivity-centered management style while also acting with social consciousness in its determination to generate added value. The Doğuş Group is active in more than 5 sectors, including finance, automotive, construction, tourism and media. With over 35,000 employees serving more than 5 million customers, the Group's objective is to use human resources and its superior technological capital to create brand value that will ensure customer loyalty and regional growth through global cooperation. Providing its services based upon the principles of customer satisfaction and trust, the Doğuş Group has created and developed respected brands on a world scale and, by adapting to developments in the world, continues to be on the vanguard of change in Turkey. In 2018, in the course of the Turkish currency and debt crisis, 2018, the group asked its lenders for a debt restructuring. Doğuş’ outstanding loans stood at the equivalent of TRY 23.5 billion at the end 2017, up 11 percent from the year before.
Projects and interests
Doğuş Group are some of the major financial backers of the İstanbul Modern, alongside the Eczacıbaşı group, and the Nusr-Et steakhouses, made famous by their chef Nusret Gökçe. By 2020, Doğuş Group had planned to construct Galataport, a cruise ship port in Karaköy, Istanbul, in a joint venture with Bilgili Holding.
