Darkwood brand was introduced to Turkish market in 2004 when Önder Group invested in a shoe factory in a rural village of Bartın, a small city by the west Black Sea coast.

The CEO of the group was inspired by the small shoe production facilities in Portuguese villages. To realize a similar production model, a small village by the city of Bartın was chosen. At the time, the state offered various kinds of incentives for the investors due to the city's poor economic condition and high rate of outside immigration. Since 2004 Darkwood has offered high quality, comfortable, and fashion-right shoes at unexpectedly low prices.

Today Darkwood shoes are distributed nationwide in over 700 leading retailers and it has become a premier brand and a benchmark of perfection in the Turkish market. As Darkwood became the flagship brand of the Önder Group by the year 2007 and the group revised the corporate strategy and decided to increase the capacity of the production facilities rather than outsourcing and importing. Darkwood experience has shown the group that only by choosing to control the entire shoe making process and all levels of the value chain, it is possible to deliver a truly world class product.