dance, Aslan Önel A company with a very impressive success story, founded in 1964. Although production takes place under the name of several companies under the Raks Holding structure, from packaging to small household appliances, the main source of production is They were cassette tapes.

Well, who would have thought that the one who would bring the end of this story would be full of vision? “unpredictability of the future” and “inability to move with the times” it would happen.

Part 1 of the series:

So let’s start the second part of the series with Raks’ story:

Raks executives said, “Since we are producing cassettes, let’s delve into the music business as well.” with the most popular artists by setting up their own production companies to get started millions of cassette sales They did it.

Turkey first magnetic tape Raks, who founded the production line, exported to many countries for many years and became not only the best in his field in Turkey, but also a major player in “cassette making” in the world.

It is the first company from Turkey to participate in IFA, the world’s largest electronics fair, which was held in Berlin in 1985.

Raks electronics At the time they produced under the name in the organized industrial zone of Manisa He makes it in his factory. Turkey’s largest audio and video company Raks, a cassette manufacturerafter that period CD/DVD production Also He starts doing it. At this point it can be said that Raks began to catch up with the technology of the period in terms of moving from cassettes to CDs.

On July 20, 1993, Raks Elektronik goes public with 3,900 liras.

“RAKS Elektronik, Turkey’s first and largest private company in the production of audio and video cassettes for 16 years, puts its shares at the disposal of our people’s savings.”

What a conscious investor should do in an IPO is participate in the IPO. It is primarily a review of the company. In this case, if we look broadly at Raks, we see that it had 70% of the cassette market. The company’s production 40% to the domestic market While presenting 60% to the foreign marketthat is, by exporting.

Among the countries they export to: Japan, in addition to the US and European countries is available. Although it has been attractive to investors until now, in 1993 it was available within minutes via the mobile application. It is not possible to participate in public offers People had to come directly to Istanbul and make requests.

This was the main factor that made it difficult to sell and buy during rapid rises and falls in the future. Because Raks’ adventure in the stock market quite wavy had been continued.

In 1994, this time Raks, telecommunications and R&D establishes its units. RaksNet in 1996 The company, which entered the Internet sector under his name, is not satisfied with this and even opens Internet cafes.

Additionally In 1997 Participates in the tender for “wireless local loop” of Türk Telekom. The main purpose of these steps taken is to provide services in the telecommunications sector. He achieved this goal in the early 2000s and It is during this period that they start producing their first phones.

Apart from all this, Raks main production was cassette and he spent most of his investments here, and he did so with short-term debt.

Raks Holding His contributions to the music industry were also very important. Particularly through Raks Music, he was a pioneer in the establishment of the Turkish Music Producers Association (MÜYAP).

Company, illegal tape With the hologram system he developed to prevent the production of music, he significantly reduced the production of illegal music in Turkey.

of that period best-known music production companies The founder is again Raks.

He founded these music production companies; He works with names like Ebru Gündeş, Emel Sayın, Bülent Ersoy, Sezen Aksu, Ajda Pekkan, Nükhet Duru. Even according to some contributed to the recognition of some of these names It is even said that it was.

in 1997 the world’s largest music production company which is owned by Philips polygramcompanies belonging to Raks buys 25%. We should point out that Philips was also a major player in cassette production at the time.

In 1998 again a world famous company, this time Universal music, It buys Polygram’s European shares. This is how he becomes Raks’ partner; In fact, he was not satisfied with this and bought 26% of the shares. Raks Music’s largest partner with 51% is happening.

For example, Raks will collaborate with singers within Universal Music. Some of these singers are Kayahan, Sebnem Ferah, Muslum Gurses And Teoman It consists of the best of the period such as.

After these steps, Raks becomes a major player in the entertainment industry; After that, “Raksotek”, the largest entertainment and music store of that period, was founded.

Rakotek is trying to change consumer habits so that in this period everyone listen to the tapes from a time when he returned we talk about.

Raksotek uses its slogan as “Buy it, watch it, keep it.” doing; so just a little bit promoting archiving There is understanding. Years later he played the role of Raksotek’s adventurer, with whom he was once a partner. D&R stores to take.

Raks, who also works in the TV industry, Discovery Channel’He had the Turkish representation of . Even next to this one NO1, GençTV, ModeTV Such channels were also part of Raks. So, as you can imagine, Raks had quite a broad command in the entertainment industry.

In 1999, because of all these achievements, then President Süleyman Demirel awarded Raks founder Aslan Önel the “Special Order of State” for his contributions to the economy.

From mid 1997 Asian financial crisis And Crises in Russia, It has major consequences for RAKS, just as it has consequences for all companies. The economic crisis of 1998 onwards accelerated the collapse of the company.

The last factor that really hits home here, though Major earthquake in Marmara is happening. This earthquake, which occurred in 1999, not only affected the entire country, but also dealt the final blow in the collapse of RAKS. During this period, banks increase interest rates and many companies encounter bottlenecks.

RAKS stopped production in 1999 when it could not pay its $150 million debt to banks and workers. A semester Company with 2700 employeesThe number of employees in the early 2000s forced to reduce it to 400 and although the company faced financial difficulties during this period and reached an agreement with the banks to which it owed money, these steps were not sufficient to overcome the financial difficulties.

While the entire world was turning away from cassettes by the 2000s, Raks continued to invest in the cassette industry. So much so that this is the main source of these investments He did it with short-term loans.

This is known to have played a major role in the collapse. The Raks government failed to properly consider the circumstances of that period and acted, as it were, ‘stubbornly’ about the future. They had made the wrong investment decisions.

In the archives from that period the following was said about Raks:

Raks at the time Nedim Aysan, General Manager, “With the economic crisis that also hit Russia in 1998, we also encountered a bottleneck. We took loans from banks, the interest rates on the loans quickly rose from 200 percent to 320 percent. The company, which exports $150 million a year, faced foreclosure proceedings despite its guarantees. Our stock sales have hit rock bottom.” he said.

The Asian crisis that started in the second quarter of 1997 and then the Russian crisis Although investors to RAKS They had not lost their confidence. So much so that a 2000 newspaper archive used the following phrases: “Looking at the summer months of 1998, we see that the company’s stock rose rapidly. Share value of the company that peaked on August 4, 1998 It was 7,380 lira. Moreover, this period coincides with the time when the global crisis was at its deepest. The stock, which started to fall from this level, was followed by bankruptcy news. On September 28, 1999, it fell to 660 lira.“

The shares of Raks Elektronik and Raks Ev Aletleri, which were officially declared bankrupt in 2007, were permanently delisted from the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE).

The statement also noted that the Capital Markets Board July 19, 2002 It was stated that, in accordance with the 2009 regulations, it is not possible for the shares of Raks Elektronik and Raks Ev Aletleri to be traded off-exchange through brokerage firms.

Although Raks officially declared bankruptcy in 2007, its shares have followed a fluctuating trend since the early 2000s. During these periods, shares operated according to the logic of the paper system It cannot be sold over the phone with one click. It must not be forgotten.

After the bankruptcy became clear in 2007, Raks’ shares went public It almost disappeared into history and left behind thousands of aggrieved investors.

Naming rights after 2007 Asan distribution And RK technology The brand made a comeback on the market as it was used by companies. In addition, RK Technology, which still owns the brand today, His connection to the Önel family, who founded Raks It is also known to be so.

We should also point out that today’s Raks is not active in the music, telephone, cassette or CD business as in the past. For the time being, they provide services in the field of household appliances and cooling systems.

Bonus: the RAKS factory in Manisa, which was auctioned at the end of 2009 the buyer tooIt didn’t work out.

The companies that produce the products that export to the world, which we mentioned at the beginning of our content. factory, If the company goes bankrupt, it will be run by a bank 22.7 million liras Although it was for sale, no buyers came forward. Moreover, no company participates in the auction.

At this point, to participate in the auction at least 60% of this amount The corresponding part must be presented. The main reason for this is that in the conditions of the 2010s technological lag A stationary factory full of equipment and vehicles is of no use to any company. not attractive it could be.

Bankrupt companies that went public in the past and years later reduced people’s money in the stock market – See you in part 3.