The star of the first day of the Istabul office and stationery show for the Turkish television and press was famous top model Tulin Sahin posing as Barbie as part of Back to School manufacturer and importer HKN's promotional campaign.

With one of the largest stands at the show, HKN (Hakancanta) holds the licenses for school bags for brands including Barbie and Spiderman in a market where branded Back to School products are in high demand.

''You can't imagine how big the Turkish market is for branded products,'' said Ebru Iscan, Product Manager. ''All the boys want Spiderman and all the girls are crazy about Barbie. There is virtually no demand for non branded products.''

In 2008 HKN has embarked on expanding exports to Eastern Europe, the CIS states, North Africa and the Middle East. It is currently establishing distributors in countries from these zones for its range of branded school products.