SPAR supermarkets Sri Lanka celebrated the culmination of five years of excellence in service and product standards with an awards night themed ‘A Star is Born’ to appreciate the dedication and spirit of high-performing team members throughout the year. A truly star-studded event was held at the newly opened Courtyard by Mariott on May 4th, 2023, and kicked off with flair and excitement to the beats of a traditional Sri Lankan drumming performance and was later serenaded by the smooth tunes of one of Sri Lanka’s brightest singing sensations.
The CEO of SPAR Sri Lanka, Mr. Kumar De Silva, congratulated his team on the valuable growth of the brand, which is currently operating 11 stores across the Western Province. He commented that the ‘stars amongst us’ should be proud of the culture of excellence that they have ignited within their teams at each store and had this to say about how the business has survived the recent turbulent times in Sri Lanka: “When conditions are tough, that is when we have always excelled’. SPAR Sri Lanka Chairman, Mr. Rob Philipson, provided perspective on the achievements of the brand and reminisced on how far the company has come in the last 7 years since their humble beginnings in a small office where what we see today as the bold red, white, and green colours of SPAR were still only ideas. He thanked the Ceylon Biscuits Limited Board, who are the joint venture partners of SPAR in Sri Lanka, for their unwavering support and acknowledged Ms. Shea Wickramasingha, Group Managing Director of CBL, who also graced the occasion with a few words of appreciation and congratulations via an online call.
Mr. Philipson further stated that the pride, passion, and energy that have been inculcated in the SPAR banner in Sri Lanka are unparalleled among the 13,623 SPAR stores across the world. He commented that while SPAR is still one of the youngest players in the local supermarket retail industry, the opposition cannot duplicate the essence of the culture being built within the SPAR brand, which is the force that drives their success. He also congratulated all 670 stars that are currently employed by SPAR Sri Lanka and thanked them for their loyalty to the company, saying it was irreplaceable and that they have an obligation to share these values with new team members coming aboard as the brand powers forward with their plans for expansion.
The Leadership Development Programme at SPAR supermarkets was given special attention for not only its strategic purpose in building more confident and well-prepared team members but also for its merit in being able to empower potential leaders for the brand. All the graduates of the Leadership Training Programme were recognised, as were those who had completed a tenure of 5 years at SPAR, essentially being a part of the company’s journey since its inception. The coveted star performer of the year award was won by Mr. Lakshitha Dissanayake, whose inspiring words to his colleagues, “Everyone can one day be where I am’, were received with loud cheers and applause. The interdepartmental awards were the highlight of the evening, with the Malabe store receiving the award for the ‘most popular store of the year,” and the highest accolade of the night was given to the Kelaniya store as the ‘store of the year,” while the “Think Retail” award was given to Lakmali Igalahewa and the “Think DC” award was given to Dinusha Yatiwella.
SPAR Sri Lanka General Manager, Mr. Hendrik Marais, delivered the vote of thanks and had a special message of thanks for the families in attendance, who were appreciated as the silent stars of the evening, as without their continued support, the success story of SPAR Sri Lanka wouldn’t shine as brightly.
