Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Tax generated from spirits sales also plays a key role to bridge the budget deficit. It is estimated that the global spirit market maintains a four per cent growth and Sri Lanka too follows this trend.

Alpha Orient Lanka Limited which operates several retail stores including at the Colombo Airport Duty Free is the largest importer of spirits to the country. Managing Director, Paul Topping who is stationed in Sri Lanka for over a decade speaks to Daily News Business Expat Chit Chat on the trends of the industry.

Q: How do you review your operations in Sri Lanka?

The sales in Sri Lanka have been increasing in the past.

However the recent inflation is having a check on our volume of sales. The recent regulations also has somewhat hampered sales. We salute the Government for action initiated to stop selling sprits to minors.

However while accepting and respecting the decisions taken by the Government I must caution that laws should be relaxed for the tourism industry.

The state should also look at reviewing the tax structure as high taxes would result in legal sales dropping and people resorting to consuming illicit spirits. This would slow down the tax revenue to the Government.

Orient Lanka has opened many shops, restaurants and cafes and we must thank the Government as there is less red tape in Sri Lanka than many other countries in the region to commence new businesses.

Q: How is it to work with Sri Lankan staff?

The company employs around 400 and they are highly talented and motivated. They are hungry for information and this is a very good quality that I observe in the local workforce.

At Orient Lanka all employees are equal and we do not have designations such as peon. The company was owned by the government 11 years ago and today we have turned it around mainly due to the dedicated staff. The parent company, Autogrove based in Italy is very keen on HR and lot of research goes to improve their productivity.

Q: How do you reward your staff?

The annual Heroes Awards presentation will reward, recognise and publicise employees who have performed exemplarily. Thirteen individual and team awards were presented at last Saturday to over 50 winners who also received cash prizes amounting to around Rs. 5 million.

This award system is very popular and several overseas offices including the US is taking this ‘Heroes’ concept a role model to launch similar programmes.

More than 30 representatives from travel and retail businesses around the world, who supported the scheme, including the industries biggest names, were present at Asia Heroes to support, present awards and cheer on the winners.

Q: How important is CSR to a company?

It is a very important component in Business. We must give back something to society. We have re-housed over 100 tsunami affected individuals through a housing project in Nagoda. Twenty fully furnished houses and a community centre has already been donated to the homeless through the project.

Q: How is the local infrastructure?

It is improving and I see development taking place. The Colombo airport is one of the best airports in the region and its definitely better than Indian airports. Colombo airport is well maintained, it’s very clean and operations are smooth.

However the road network needs urgent attention.

The on going conflict has also slowed down the economy and when the problem is settled, the local economy will boom.

Q: What are the local market trends?

Despite all legal constraints 50 per cent of the local spirit market is dominated by illicit sales.

Foreign spirit sales account to around six percent of the total consumption and ‘Red Label’ is the fastest moving international brand.

I also observe an increasing demand for wines as people are getting more health conscious.

Alpha Orient Lanka annual sales exceeded US $ 20 million during the early parts of the operation.

Q: How are the global market trends for spirits?

It’s not a fast moving industry showing massive growth YoY.

However I can forecast that in 2010 many international high end brands will run short of supply as there is a short supply of Malt.

I must also add that I am very happy with the local music scene and I could recommend ‘Misty’ to entertain any audience in the world.

Q: What are places of interest for you in Sri Lanka?

I love the Golf courses and of course the beaches in the southern coast.

Pictures by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa

My Boss

Chethika Hapugalle, who does most of the work for the Managing Director, Alpha Orient Lanka, Topping says that selling spirits is still considered a man’s job in this part of the world.

“My boss always says that this is a myth and this helps me to overcome many problems,” she said. A graduate form the Moratuwa University and a former employee of Unilevers, she says that Topping motivates the employees and this is one of his key strengths.

He gets angry when a person promises something and fails to deliver it.

His motto is ‘under promise and over deliver.’