CEAT Kelani Holdings has opened its third Company Invested Dealer Operated (CIDO) outlet in Sri Lanka in Mirihana, providing this busy suburb on the south eastern boundary of Colombo City with a sophisticated flagship store for all tyre-related products and services.
The new CEAT CIDO outlet was formally inaugurated recently at Prime Tyre & Auto Services at No 17, Old Kottawa Road, Mirihana, Nugegoda.
The CEAT CIDO outlets are part of a three-year distribution channel expansion strategy designed to drive CEAT’s brand exclusivity, visibility and premiumisation and enhance customer experience at partner outlets in tandem with product improvements. The Mirihana outlet is also the first to display CEAT’s new branding and visuals that reflect its ‘Engineered in Germany’ theme for passenger car and SUV tyres.
Designed and equipped to focus on providing services for passenger cars and SUVs, the new outlet will offer an extensive range of CEAT tyres with attractive discounts, tyre care and technical expertise, wheel balancing and alignment, nitrogen and air pumps for tyre inflation as well as vehicle servicing and interior and exterior detailing. A feature of the CEAT CIDO outlet is a comfortable customer lounge designed and furnished to CEAT’s specifications.
CEAT Kelani provides these new flagship stores with the elements of their modern interior design, the roofing, lighting and furniture, tyre display and sample racks, the customer lounge with sofa, illuminated brand boards in store and outside including pylon signage for visibility from a distance.
CEAT’s investments in distribution channel upgrades and expansion in Sri Lanka have resulted in the opening of the three CIDO outlets at Etul Kotte, Madampe and now Mirihana, as well as the opening of six Shop-In-Shop (SIS) outlets at Borella, Pamankada, Malabe, Colombo 14 (two outlets) and Hanwella.
CEAT’s emergence as the top brand in Sri Lanka’s tyre sector is the result of substantial investments over several years that have seen not just exponential increases in volumes but expansion of the product range, the deployment of new technology and quantum improvements in quality. The Company’s new retail concepts are designed to ensure the customer experience keeps pace with the brand’s growth.
The CEAT brand originated in Italy and is backed by German manufacturing technology and extensive research and testing facilities in India and Europe. CEAT Kelani Holdings currently manufactures half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, exports about 20 per cent of its production to 16 countries and plays a significant role in helping the national economy conserve foreign exchange by reducing dependence on imported tyres. The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka over the past decade exceeds Rs 8.5 billion.