People, Events & Advertorial
Tuesday 02nd March, 2010
SLT rewards dealers
The Sri Lanka Telecom Dealer
Convention 2009 was held at the
Water’s Edge on February 19.
Many members of the dealer
and retail network were appreciated for their contribution and performance during 2009, at the convention.
SLT remarked that the main initiative behind this award scheme
was to recognize and appreciate the
achievements in the prepaid card
operations for the following product categories – SLT Passport card,
sltnet prepaid card and SLT
Citylink CDMA prepaid cards.
They also used the dealer convention as a platform through which
the dealers can be motivated
towards even better performance
levels. Moreover, activities such as
renewal of agreements and review
of the past years’ operations and
making plans for the current year
were also conducted during the
convention.
The convention consisted of two
sessions. The first session encompassed of agreement signing and
the reviewing of operations conducted in 2009 as well as the discussion of plans for 2010. The second
A R Kassam of ST Distributers receiving the award from Sri Lanka Telecom Chairperson
Leisha De Silva Chandrasena.
session, which was the highlights of gories - SLT Passport, SLT Citylink
the first session, had the awards
CDMA pre-paid card and sltnet prepresentation where awards were
paid card. Under the ‘Island Wide
presented for three main categories. award’ group, three winners were
SLT has grouped the members
rewarded for the best performance
of the dealer network into four catin the context of all three products.
egories based on their sales potenFurther, the Most Outstanding, 1st
tial and strength. Four awards were runner-up and 2nd runner-up
presented to the best dealer of each
awards were presented to Mr. A. R.
category. The next award category
Kassam of ST Distributors (Pvt)
was the ‘Product Achievement’,
Ltd, Mr. W. G. S. P. Siriwardana of
under which three winners were
Shen Cellular and M. R. A. Perera
awarded for the following subcateof Wijaya Distributors (Pvt) Ltd
Live the Dream:
Talk show with Otara
Gunewardene & Ranjit Page
Have you ever wanted to be
someone different? Almost every
person has aspirations for a successful future. But only a handful
has actually gone the extra mile
to turn their DREAMS into
REALITY. Most have been too
afraid to undertake challenges
and turn them into opportunities.
Well now’s YOUR chance to
learn from those who have “gone
the distance”!!!
Live the Dream is a series of
live talk shows featuring
admirable personalities from top
notch entrepreneurs to sports
celebrities and more. Gain
Insight, Inspiration, Guidance
and the opportunity to Network.
Learn from their achievements
and uncover the secrets of their
success. Be there as we speak to
Otara Gunewardene (CEO,
ODEL) and Ranjit Page (CEO,
Cargills (Ceylon) PLC).
On March 6 Saturday, at the
Banquet Hall, Excel World. From
10am to 12.30pm. Tickets are
priced at Rs 500.
This project is for the charitable cause of educating the underprivileged children.
All funds raised through tickets and sponsors will go towards
these underprivileged children.
This is organized by the Leo
Club of Colombo (Host), District
306A1.
The club has produced several
District and Multiple district
presidents in the recent past.
The Leo Club of Colombo
(Host) is the longest standing Leo
Club in the country, now celebrating its 40th year in service.
To celebrate its 40 years of
unbroken service, the club has
organised several projects this
year. And live the dream is one of
them.
respectively.
Over 250 members of the SLT
dealer and retail network were
present at the occasion. The chief
guest of the event, SLT
Chairperson, Mrs. Leisha De Silva
Chandrasena shared her thoughts
at the gathering saying, “Let me
take a minute to congratulate all
the award winners on the exceptional performance and dedication
you have shown in the year 2009. As
we go on to renew the agreements
for the year 2010, we sincerely hope
and encourage you to continue to
show as much enthusiasm towards
our products in this year as well”
Even though the prepaid cards
sector in Sri Lanka is highly competitive, SLT has been able to maintain
a steady growth in their prepaid
cards product range. In comparison
to year 2008, SLT has marked an
escalation of significant percentage
in the prepaid cards growth. SLT
remarked that they would not have
been able to achieve such a success
without the contribution of their
dealers and retailers since more
than 90% of their prepaid cards revenue is earned through the dealers
and retailers.
DHL Express appoints
new country manager
DHL, the world’s leading
express company, announced the
appointment of Manish Patel as
Country Manager for DHL Keells
(Pvt.) Ltd. – the market leading
express services JV between DHL
Express and John Keells Holdings
in Sri Lanka.
Prior to his current position,
Patel was the Head of Business
Development & Alliances for NonMetro Markets at DHL Express,
India.
With over 10 years of experience in DHL Express India,
Manish has had a string of
achievements. He was instrumental in the successful re-branding of
DHL Express in India in 2003 and
was also responsible for the
expansion of DHL into 500 nonmetro locations across India.
Speaking on the appointment,
Ramesh Natarajan, Vice-President
– Rest of South Asia, for DHL
Express, said: “We are delighted to
appoint
Manish Patel
as the Country
Manager for
Sri Lanka. Sri
Lanka is a key
focus market
and we are
glad to have a
seasoned
industry
expert leading
Manish Patel
the business.”
Commen-ting on this new role,
Manish said: “I’m happy to be in
Sri Lanka. The economic situation
in Sri Lanka is looking better now
than it has in a long time. We see
promising opportunities in
tourism, auto and IT sectors
besides Sri Lanka’s traditional
strength in the apparel sector.
DHL will continue to play the role
of a trade enabler through superior service focus for its customers
in Sri Lanka.”
tain the precise colour shade as the
larger cans of paint.
“Available in the full range of
Dulux hues, the Colour Tester will
prove to be an effective tool for
architects and interior designers to
recommend colours to their clients.
In fact, we hope that the Colour
Testers will encourage customers
to become more adventurous and
try out shades they normally might
not have considered.
This Colour Tester range will be
available at our premium distributor and dealer outlets, and we are
optimistic that customers will use
them as an effective way to experiment with colour and add scintillating new shades of paint to their
walls. We are able to leverage on
our global network’s expertise to
bring Sri Lankan consumers the
very latest in paint technology,”
said Graham Marshall, Head of
Marketing Akzo Nobel Paints
Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
The compact and fashionable
Colour Tester booth are also
equipped with handy Colour
Circles, which allow customers to
play around with coloured circle
cut-outs to work out the best colour
combination. Although traditionally home owners tend to use one
colour for all the walls, the recom-
mended palette for the most visually pleasing effect is three colours
used in a 70:20:10 combination usually from the same colour
range. Patented by Dulux, this
unique colour selection concept
recommends the use of 70 per cent
of the room in the dominant colour,
20 per cent in an intermediate
colour and 10 per cent in the accent
colour.. This combination has
proved to be the most eye-catching
and soothing in equal measure and
the Colour Tester and Colour Circle
are aids that will make the decision
easier for customers. By experimenting with the Colour Testers,
customers can realistically visualise what their walls and ceilings
will look like once painted in the
chosen colours.
The Dulux booth also featured
the ‘Colour of the Year 2010’, which
took centre stage. The colour
trends presented by AkzoNobel for
2010 are a part of the company’s
Colour Futures™, which resulted
from an ongoing worldwide colour
trend research, forecasting and
development efforts of the company.
The company’s aesthetic centre
in Netherlands brings together
creative experts from around the
world to study developments in
fashion, architecture, art, design,
technology and popular culture.
They then interpret their findings
into colours. Akzo Nobel Paints
Lanka is the local arm of the
Amsterdam-based AkzoNobel, the
world’s leader in paints and coatings.
AkzoNobel has forecast ‘reclamation’ would be the primary
influencing factor of colour trends
in 2010. Hence, ‘California Blue’
was declared the colour of the
year, signifying an airy and optimistic blue that symbolizes infinite horizons, new beginnings,
renewed energy and a positive
dynamic. Dulux renders colour
fun and customers can look forward to many more innovative
ideas from Dulux on the unusual
use of colour.
Mix ‘n’ match with Dulux colour testers
Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka, a
member of CIC Group and supplier
of Sri Lanka’s leading decorative
paint brand Dulux, unveiled a
whole new way of colouring dream
walls at the recently concluded
Architect 2010 exhibition.
A showstopper at the event, the
attractively designed Dulux booth
was ablaze with a varied colour
palette - enveloping all those who
entered the innovatively devised
booth in a dreamlike state. Serene
greens, calm blues, fiery reds and
passionate purples - colour never
looked so good before.
The newly-launched Colour
Testers offer customers the facility to try out any colour that catches their fancy, before investing in
a large quantity of paint for their
homes or offices. Experimenting
with colours and spoiling the customer for choice is a privilege that
Dulux takes seriously. As an extension of this desire to offer its customers world-class products,
Dulux has pioneered ‘Colour
Testers’ to the Sri Lankan market.
A novel concept that is capturing the imagination of people globally, ‘Colour Testers’ are small
tubes of paint available at a nominal cost that allow customers to try
out a small area on a wall before
opting for the colour.
This pioneering move offers
convenience and affordability, as
the customer does not have to
invest in a litre of paint only to
find that the colour perhaps does
not suit the requirement eventually.
By using these Colour Testers, customers will get a precise idea of
what the colour will look like on
the wall, since the tester tubes con-
Page 7
World-class services at
HSBC Cinnamon Gardens
HSBC Cinnamon Gardens branch
was ceremoniously opened by chief
guest, Captain Sanka Rakkhita
Wikramanayake, a valued HSBC
Premier customer on Thursday, February
24, in the presence of Nick Nicolaou,
Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Sri Lanka
and Maldives, senior management, staff
and customers.
Located at No.41/1 Maitland Crescent,
Colombo 7, the branch offers a comprehensive range of products and services
to serve the needs of both new and existing customers of HSBC.
service.
Addressing invitees, Nicolaou, said:
“I’m indeed happy to announce the opening of our model branch in Sri Lanka and
the second since our branch opening in
Jaffna. The Cinnamon Gardens branch is
conveniently located to serve customers
with a spaciously designed banking area
that conforms to the latest group standards.The branch is well equipped with
modern facilities and a dedicated parking
area to provide customers the best service and a truly international banking
experience at all times.”
The HSBC Cinnamon Gardens branch was declared open by Captain
Sanka Rakkhita Wikramanayake, a valued HSBC Premier customer in the
presence of Nick Nicolaou, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Sri Lanka and
Maldives.
The location also boasts the opening
of the second dedicated HSBC Premier
centre in Colombo, which will cater to
HSBC’s Premier personal banking clientele who will enjoy the highest standards
of privacy and banking convenience in
keeping with HSBC’s global standards.
HSBC Premier is an exclusive worldwide
service proposition reserved for HSBC’s
high net worth clientele.
HSBC’s team of knowledgeable and
qualified relationship managers will assist
HSBC Premier Customers with their
banking and financial advisory needs,
providing a truly personalised banking
The Cinnamon Gardens branch is
designed to meet the latest branch standards as offered by HSBC Group globally. It offers a larger reception area with a
global ambiance to make customers feel
at home and new meeting rooms to provide customers with privacy. The branch
will also encompass a state-of-the-art
express banking area with Personal
Internet Banking, connection to HSBC’s
24-hour Call Centre, additional ATM’s
and Easy Pay machines to withdraw or
deposit cash when required. Ample parking facilities are offered for the convenience of customers, who visit the branch.