Turkish clothing brand Koton appointed one of its parking lot employees as the chairman of the firm’s board of directors, Gazete Duvar reported on Thursday.

Lütfü Çağkaya, who was in charge of Koton’s parking lot in Istanbul, stepped up to his new position on April 1, as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the Turkish textile industry, the news site said, citing sources close to the company.

Koton had closed five of its stores in the country, three of which were before Turkey’s first confirmed COVID-19 case.

Since its establishment, Yılmaz Yılmaz and his wife, Gülden Yılmaz, had led the company and its 284 stores in Turkey and another 188 abroad, Duvar said.

The Yılmaz family, which had been negotiating for a partnership for some time due to financial difficulties, withdrew from the management of the company. A Turkish-funded Dutch company, Nemo Apparel BV, has managed the company since April 1.