Qazaq Republic has become a popular brand among young people in Kazakhstan. The brand has become a success story for entrepreneurship within Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Yermek Kazym, co-founder and CEO, to learn more about the brand, its message, and how it achieved its success.
TCA: Qazaq Republic celebrates Kazakhstan’s heritage through fashion. What inspired the brand’s creation, and what is its story?
When the founder of Qazaq Republic, Saken Joldas, was studying in the US, he would always bring gifts from Kazakhstan for his friends. But the available options were always uninspiring. This led him to dream about creating something more appealing to showcase modern Kazakhstan’s vibrant youth culture and style.
In 2016, when the mayor of Almaty announced a competition to design a new city logo, Saken shared his designs with the public. He created digital versions of the design to print on mugs and t-shirts and posted them on Facebook. The response from the community was incredible—people loved the concept and showed great interest in purchasing the items. That’s how the idea for the brand began to take form, starting right in his kitchen.
The first big order came from the Duty-Free store at Almaty Airport. They requested around 30 t-shirts to sell. As the business grew, Qazaq Republic was given space at the biggest toy and bookstore in Almaty, Meloman. With the rise in sales, we decided to open QR’s very first store. When designing it, we even considered adding a coffee shop in case the store didn’t work out.
QR’s first store opened in November 2019 on 47 Mametova street, but then the pandemic hit. While malls were closing, our store had the advantage of being a standalone store.
To help people feel better during difficult times, we created unique cotton masks with the phrase “Bari jaqsy bolady” (Everything will be alright). Instead of selling them, we gave them free of charge with orders over 5,000 tenge. Customers started placing smaller orders just to get these masks, giving us a strong sense of support and confidence that we were on the right track.
TCA: Could you walk us through the creative process of designing a typical Qazaq Republic collection?
We’ve built a solid foundation now. People used to think we were just buying ready-made items and putting our logo on them, but that’s not the case.
Like global brands such as Nike and Ikea, we design our products in Kazakhstan while outsourcing production and manufacturing to trusted partner factories in Turkey and China. We oversee every detail, from creating labels and designs to developing patterns, ensuring complete control over the process. This approach allows us to concentrate more on perfecting our products.
The brand’s uniqueness lies in creating products that make everyday life comfortable and functional while staying modern and high-quality.
TCA: Who is the target audience for Qazaq Republic, and how has it evolved since the brand’s inception?
When we first launched our brand, we assumed it would primarily appeal to tourists. However, over time, we noticed a strong interest from local customers. This led us to shift our focus to the local market gradually. Today, we proudly consider ourselves a leader in the local clothing industry. While our target audience is broad, we primarily focus on young people aged 18 to 35.
During the pandemic, hoodies gained popularity as remote work became the norm. The workplace mindset changed, and hoodies became more widely accepted after the pandemic, which helped drive our brand’s growth.
TCA: Are there specific markets outside Kazakhstan where Qazaq Republic has seen significant interest?
Yes, we’ve noticed influencers from various countries wearing our products. Recently, a girl from Kazakhstan sent one of our t-shirts to a popular Korean boy band, and the lead singer began wearing it on TV shows. The moment went viral on TikTok, creating a significant buzz.
I don’t think they were familiar with QR, but knowing that they probably receive thousands of gifts from fans worldwide, it’s amazing that the singer chose to wear our t-shirt for its design and product. It inspires us to believe our products can succeed in other markets as we consider expanding to markets like South Korea, China, and Europe.
TCA: What were your biggest challenges when launching and growing the brand?
The pandemic wasn’t a challenge for us. As people say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
However, we faced some difficulties, such as a budget shortfall and a decrease in our customers’ incomes due to the devaluation of the tenge. Our costs increased in dollars, but we couldn’t pass those extra expenses onto our customers, whose incomes were shrinking. As a result, we had to reduce our gross and profit margins.
With the growth of online marketplaces, people opt for cheaper products, making the competition even stronger. We’re not the cheapest, but we’re not the most expensive either, so we need to keep up with trends and highlight the quality of our products.
TCA: How do you see the Qazaq Republic contributing to Kazakhstan’s global awareness?
We hope to contribute positively. We want people traveling or studying abroad to wear our products with pride.
One of our goals is to become one of Kazakhstan’s top three brands. Forbes recently published a list of the top brands in Kazakhstan, with Air Astana, Rakhat, and Kaspi leading the pack, and we were number four. We aim to break into the top three.
We’re building a Kazakhstani brand that can compete with global brands in quality, style, and positioning. We hope foreign audiences will be intrigued by our products’ slogans and learn more about our rich culture. “Born Qazaq” isn’t just about patriotism; it means being born free.
We want people to explore and understand the meanings behind these phrases and gain interest in Kazakhstan’s culture.
TCA: Have you faced any challenges with competitors or people trying to replicate your business model? How do you feel about it?
Yes, we have. The apparel industry is one of the most fiercely competitive markets globally. To stay relevant and stand out, we must constantly compete with well-established international giants like Zara, H&M, Pull&Bear, and Bershka. To thrive, we offer unique designs, maintain high product quality, and build a strong connection with our audience.
After starting our company, many locals thought it was easy to just get t-shirts, put prints on them, and sell them. Some people even copied us, but I took it as a compliment. It encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. They’re paying for t-shirts and dealing with customs and taxes. Even if they fail, they’ll still gain valuable skills. This inspires me. It also sends a message to our people: if the Qazaq Republic can do it, so can others. Even if only one out of five similar companies succeeds, it will still boost our country.
In Uzbekistan, someone started a brand called “Uzbek Republic.” At first, we were jealous, but over time, we came to appreciate it and see it as a form of recognition.
We also began noticing counterfeit versions of our designs in local markets. While frustrating, it shows that our brand is growing and attracting attention.
TCA: What new directions or collaborations can we expect from Qazaq Republic in the coming years?
We’ve been brainstorming a lot with our teams. One area we’re expanding is our kids’ collection. My youngest child always complains that she can’t find anything to wear from our brand.
We’re also working on a more basic collection—something people can wear daily without a big logo. We’ll have a subtle, tone-on-tone logo that can be worn under jackets, offering a more minimalist look compared to some of our other designs.
We also plan to expand into online marketplaces in Europe, the US, and South Korea.
TCA: Are there plans to expand into other product lines, such as accessories and home decor?
A couple of years ago, we had big plans to launch a coffee chain and create a brand similar to Zara Home. However, we faced some challenges. Initially, we focused mainly on sales and didn’t pay enough attention to distribution. As a larger company, we have to make careful decisions and focus on our processes, or the market could overtake us.
TCA: Do you have any additional comments?
I’m really proud of my team. Many started with us as their first job, and we’ve grown together. Akmaral and Saken care about the employees, and there’s a lot of trust here. Some people have been with us since the beginning, and when we see that, we know we’re doing something right.
We’ve even won awards for our HR practices, and I’m very proud of our corporate culture. Our company has a lot of trust and love, so we don’t have to spend much time on internal issues, which lets us focus on improving externally. With this team, we can achieve big goals.
I hope we can inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan and show people that success is possible. There is so much talent here; we want to help nurture and develop it further.
To see the range click here: https://qazaqrepublic.com/
