• ‘Reduced SATHOSA losses greatly!’-Rishad
• Says looking to announce first breakeven in next Budget
• ‘Losses fell from R 844Mn to R 68Mn’-Rishad
• SATHOSA expanding to 500 strong network
• ‘Working to hit 4 in store equity’-Dr Rohantha
• Premium land plots for prizewinners
Unilever Sri Lanka, the Lankan presence of global FMCG giant has joined forces with the largest state owned FMCG network in Sri Lanka’s first ever “land sweepstakes”. And the state owned FMCG network has succeeded in steadily reducing its losses in a few months–almost twelvefold!
“It gives me great pleasure to promote FMCG items with a global multinational such as Unilever Sri Lanka” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen (under whose purview Lanka Sathosa falls) on 30 May at Club Palm Bay in Marawila.
Minister Bathiudeen was addressin the launch event of the unique FMCG promotion campaign “Idam Nidhaanaya” (Land Treasure) by Lanka SATHOSA and Unilever Lanka where consumers get access to a pioneering sweepstake to win one of three prime land plots developed and ready for them.
Lanka Sathosa is the largest state owned FMCG network in the country. The government plans to expand the 312 strong present Sathosa network to 500 outlets by 2016/’17.
Praising both FMCG giants for the initiative, Minister Bathiudeen said: “It gives me great pleasure to promote FMCG items with a global multinational such as Unilever Sri Lanka. What is more important is that this is the first time-ever that such a different and unusual promotion is taking place in the country. I commend Unilever for choosing Sathosa for this pioneering promotional style in Sri Lanka. I am also pleased to say that Lanka Sathosa has reduced its monthly losses from Rs 844 million to Rs 68 million. I am positive that in a few months we shall start reporting profits from the country’s leading state owned FMCG operator. I am eagerly looking forward to announce the news of SATHOSA break-even at this year’s Budget speech. The reason for loss reduction is streamlining operations and network expansion.”
Chairman of Lanka Sathosa Dr Rohantha Athukorala addressing the event said that as a result of the leadership of Minister Bathiudeen, Lanka Sathosa is now emerging as a ‘profit making FMCG giant’ from its previous state of a ‘loss making public entity.’ “We are Sri Lanka’s FMCG price-setter. We are aiming at increasing our store equity to 4.0 very soon” he said. In December 2015, Lanka Sathosa was ranked second among all retail chain brands in the country at a store equity of 3.4 among the mass market consumers.
Unilever Sri Lanka has 29 leading brands in respective FMCG categories. Some of the well-known brands in its Lankan portfolio are Signal toothpaste, Lux, Surf Excel, Rexona, Lipton, Knorr, Becel/Flora, Dove and Omo.