ISTANBUL (Turkey), September 26 (SeeNews) – Turkish consumer electronics manufacturer Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret [BIST:VESTL] said on Friday its wholly-owned unit Vestel Ticaret has obtained a licence from Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp to produce and sell in Europe white goods under the Sharp brand.
Vestel Ticaret will receive the exclusive rights to market and sell in Europe Sharp goods produced at Sharp's Asya site in Turkey and in the production faclities of Vestel. The agreement is to come into effect from January 1, 2015, Vestel Elektronik said in a bourse filing.
Vestel Elektronik expects the deal to increase its market share and competitiveness in the European market.
In a separate statement on Friday Sharp Corp said it will transfer its white goods business in Europe to Vestel as part of a restructuring of its European operations. Vestel will sell Sharp-brand white goods such as refrigerators and microwave ovens, produced by Sharp’s consumer appliance manufacturing bases in Thailand and in China. Sharp will also licence its brand to Vestel to produce and sell appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashes and electric ovens in order to expand the Sharp-brand gome appliance line-up, he Japanese company said.
Vestel is majority-owned by Turkish conglomerate Zorlu Holding. The company has manufacturing facilities in Turkey's provinces of Manisa and Izmir and in Russia.