Soorya fragrances Lanka Sathosa in Vavuniya as sales cross Rs.300,000 on day one

Wednesday, 23 March 2016 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The seventy year old household brand Soorya match sticks, extended its franchise to the fragrant incense market by launching the ‘New year’ variant on ‘ Consumer Week’ at Lanka Sathosa Vavuniya under the leadership of the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen in the presence of the Chairman Lanka Sathosa Dr Rohantha Athukorala in the backdrop of The Lanka Sathosa sales on day 1, which crossed the Rs. 300,000 mark.

Minister Rishad Bathiudeen commented ‘ we are happy to see local companies like Sun Match company hailing from Kandy becoming aggressive and contemporary venturing into new markets using the Lanka Sathosa chain to reach the discerning Sri Lanka consumer’. I hope the organisation will go international by using the different trade agreements and enter the regional markets.’

The Director of the Sun Match company said: “We are happy to see the new marketing thrust by Lanka Sathosa chain. We will support the organisation in the future just like their companies that have partnered for mutual benefit. “

Dr Rohantha Athukorala voiced that the responsibility that the government has asked the new management to shoulder in the turnaround of the 35 billion entity is challenging but said that with the support of the private sector that accounts for 78% of Sri Lanka it could be done. “But a lot of work needs to be done from computerisation of the outlets, face lift of the key outlets, recruitment of new staff driving the sales numbers and managing the support staff will require a lot of commitment and team work. Which is why the private-public and people partnership will be the key to the new aggressive agenda.”

“We have built the business from Rs. 1.5 billion last year to cross Rs. 2.7 billion a month but we must target Rs. 4 billion so that we can add muscle to the expansion plans. Let’s accept that Lanka Sathosa is equal to power brands of the country like Dettol, Sunlight. We now need to make the organisation commercially viable,” said Dr Athukorala.