Has been in the market for over 100 years:

Elephant House to expand with new products

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

"It is easy to win an award but to maintain it for three years is challenging"

Ceylon Cold Stores Ltd won the SLIM Nielson People's Award for the most popular beverage brand of the year at the SLIM award ceremony held at the BMICH Colombo recently.

Head of Beverages and Vice President JKH S. Srikanth Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe

Speaking to the Daily News Business on this achievement, Head of Beverages and Vice President JKH S. Srikanth said the company won this award for the third consecutive year and it is a significant achievement being a local company competing with a multinational giant.

It is easy to win an award but to maintain it for three years is challenging," Sri Kanth said.

CCC which is better known as Elephant House, has been in the market for over 100 years and today it has been able to be the leader in Sri Lanka's carbonated soft drinks market with a 45 per cent market share.

Sri Kanth pointed out that the ideal segmentation and positioning had been the strategy behind this success which focused on consumption point, occasion and the consumer.

He said that Cream Soda with youth and music, EGB with food and Necto with kids is keeping these brands alive.

The company has also looked at another important CSR aspect by purchasing all ginger and vanila extracts required to produce EGB and Cream Soda from the farmer community in Harispattuwa and Kandy uplifting their living standards according to Sri Kanth. CCC is planning to launch new products in the near future expanding its categories. Soda, Lemonade and Apple Soda which became very popular during a very short time are the main brands of CCC and it will further expand to milk and wild elephant energy drink. CCC is also the market leader for ice cream.

Questioned about the challenges Sri Kanth said the current economic situation and the drastically changing weather patterns is making sales drop very often.

Nolimit Fashion Store in Negombo

Nolimit, the biggest fashion chain in Sri Lanka, recently brought together its two fashion stores in Negombo under one roof, to provide a superior service to all it's customers.

The two fashion stores catering to ladies fashion and gents fashion needs were brought under one roof in the centre of the busy Negombo town in a much larger and spacious three-storey building making it more convenient for people to choose their favourite fashion clothing and accessories.

The distinct fashion items that are available include trendy party dresses, blouses and skirts, elegant sarees, comfortable kurthas and fashionable shalwars of latest designs.

"We now have everything that our customers desire under one roof making it convenient and easy for them. We strive to fulfil customer needs all the time in keeping with our mission" said Marketing Manager, Nolimit A. L. M. Akeel said. "We are confident that our customers will appreciate and welcome what the new Nolimit fashion store offers", he further added.

The new NOLIMIT fashion store in Negombo has a wide variety of fashion items numbering over 50,000 to choose from, and is located at Main Street, Negombo with ample parking facilities.

Odel unveils latest in French fashion with 'Morgan de Toi'

Anyone interested in knowing what the chic young women of France are wearing these days need go no further than Odel at Alexandra Place, the Colombo 7 flagship edifice of Sri Lanka's iconic department store.

A selected pick of the latest summer, autumn and winter collections of French high street fashion brand Morgan de Toi now adorns an entire wall of the Ladies Department of Odel, providing the young fashionistas of Sri Lanka a choice of light, fun and flirty designs from the world's fashion capital.

Designed for ladies 18 to 35, the range comprises skirts, tops, jeans, jackets, dresses and party wear at surprisingly Sri Lankan prices, Odel's Ladies Wear Buyer Emma Ladlow said.

"Morgan products are exclusive, because they are conceived by the brand's team of in-house designers and follow the latest trends in European fashion," Ladlow said.

"As a name that is synonymous with fashion, Odel is proud to add the 'Morgan' range to our elite product portfolio."

Morgan's summer wear collection comes in vivid colours while the autumn and winter collections are in rich hues and grey, black and white. A stock of silver attire especially designed for the festive season is also expected to arrive shortly. The winter wear collection includes cashmere and wool jackets and jeans. In addition to these, the Morgan brand includes real silks and satins.

"The brand is well known among some of our regular customers, as we have had some items from Morgan instore before," Ladlow said. "Now fans of Morgan will have a much wider choice in a dedicated space that will make browsing easier and more enjoyable."

Morgan offers two collections a year and each month, new products are added to ensure Morgan customers keep pace with the leading edge of fashion. To go with these very creative collections, Morgan offers a line of basic essentials to every wardrobe that can be found in stores all year round. These affordable products can be easily coordinated with trendier ones.

Created in 1968 and now a world-famous brand, Morgan de Toi is present in 57 countries, with 575 stores and more than 1000 multi-brand retail outlets offering Morgan products. Production is vertically integrated and takes place mainly in France.
 

Union Assurance ties-up with Keells Super

Union Assurance has tied up with Keells Super enabling customers to pay their life insurance premiums at any of its 35 outlets.

AGM - Life Distribution Nalaka Dharmaratne

AGM - Life Distribution Union Assurance Nalaka Dharmaratne, said this would be an added convenience for customers, as they could pay their life premiums while doing their shopping until 10 p.m. daily.

"Keells Super will supplement the growing number of premium collection channels at which Union Life insurance premiums could be deposited.

The advantage of the super market chain is that customers could deposit their premiums even after normal office or banking hours," Dharmaratne said.

Apart from Keells Super, Union Assurance has tied up with a number of leading banks namely Nations Trust Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank, HSBC, People's Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to provide a hassle free and secure method for premium payments.

Union Assurance is also prepared to bear standing order charges if customers choose this method to settle their premiums. "In addition to providing insurance solutions which meet individual needs, our objective is to constantly upgrade the level of convenience we provide to customers. In this respect we will continue to expand our collection network as well as improve our service standards in order to meet the growing demand for our products," Dharmaratne said.

WaveNet strikes gold at NBQSA Awards

WaveNet, the country's leading provider of telecom value added solutions, won a Gold Award for its premier Video Suite at the tenth National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2008, which was held on the October 17 at Water's Edge, Battaramulla.

The event was attended by the biggest players and most eminent academia in the local ICT software industry.

Organised by the British Computer Society to recognise exceptional achievements in the development of the local software industry, the NBQSA has become one of the most prestigious forums through which Sri Lankan ICT products are showcased to the highly competitive global ICT market.

Winners at the ceremony are eligible to participate at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) 2008 which will be held in Jakarta in November. WaveNet was awarded Gold for its Video Suite of products, which has redefined the scope of 3G mobile technology and inspired new levels of User Generated Content (UGC) services in Sri Lanka. Today WaveNet are the leading technology partners to both 3G operators in Sri Lanka Dialog Telekom and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel.

'We are constantly striving to put Sri Lanka on the digital map and winning at such a prestigious ceremony as the NBQSA is yet another opportunity for us to take Sri Lankan ICT product development to the world.

We are proud to be given the opportunity to showcase the innovative creations of local software developers at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards. Today's society thrive on sharing their special moments with the community at large, this phenomenon has given rise to the popularity and success of social sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Joost. We are now allowing convenience, immediacy and flexibility for this trend to spread its wings to the mobile domain where the user is more in control of generating their own content. We are merely enabling people to meet in new and creative ways in the technology space and tap into the growing cult of User Generated Services by enabling subscribers to just dial into the video portal to use a host of video-on-the-go-services like Video SMS and Video Mail, Video Sharing and Video on Demand, including live TV and events.

Even media organisations are able to reach new heights in delivering content, by offering subscribers the facility to download more than text or video clips and instead view the entire program on their mobile phones,' WaveNet International CEO Suren Pinto said.

The software has also paved the way for the latest trend in interactive applications - Movlogging. Movlogging combines the interactive nature of blogging with the video dimension of Vlogging and enables it to be captured and accessed on mobiles - maintaining digital diaries on a mobile have become the new fashionable outlet for creativity.

WaveNet hopes to introduce more user centric services in the video space over the next few months giving local users a richer more exciting mobile experience which would no doubt strengthen their attachment to the mobile phone.

Saratha's, dresses up the man of Sri Lanka

While many local fashion stores have neglected to keep abreast with the rapidly developing international attention to men's wear, Sarathas has for over fifty years remained committed to being the top fashion brand for men in Sri Lanka.

Most men in Sri Lanka have to pigeon-hole their styles to suit the limited options available in the market and are compelled to don fashion statements that are eventually easily duplicated. The clothing range at Sarathas however, strives to offer the kind of exclusive limited edition variety that can guarantee shoppers that when they walk into an occasion theirs is a style that will not only bring out the best in them but also easily stand out as not worn by anyone else.

For their imported wear collection for example, Sarathas ensures that only 3 items are available for each exclusive design.

The variety offered at Sarathas is a chique selection of the latest in high fashion ready-to-wear clothes. Be it formals, casuals or party clothing, Sarathas doesn't try to tailor its clients to suit the clothes but offers such a wide selection that clients can customise their own fashion statements.

At any given time, the store is able to offer at least 50 distinct designs for each type of apparel, and the types of apparel themselves enable shoppers to don a complete head to toe look, be it from the classic Kurutha suit to the matching shawl to the Mojadi (shoes).

The styles on display include international haute couture designs as well as ethnic fashion creations from the subcontinent, such as Kurutha kits, Sherwani suit and North Indian Embroidered Suits which are ideal for weddings. The Saratha's clothing range also changes throughout the year so that men can develop styles according to the changing trends of any given fashion season and can also enjoy special editions for festivals and other cultural celebrations.

The Sarathas clothing line is also tailored with attention to the kind of fine details that can improve your brand value as well as comfort factor.

The trousers available in over 75 patterns for example, are usually made from mill dyed fabric in order to retain their original color, and a limited edition of shirts sport the patch and silver foil print which is signature mark of today's vogue shirts.

Sarathas also specialises in a wide variety of clothing made from fabric choices to suit different climate conditions and skin sensitivities, from cottons, cords and Japanese and Korean polynosic fabrics for trousers to the cotton and wool thermal suits of their winter collection.

The available patterns are also designed to cater to different body structures, be it body fit skinnies or baggy t-shirts in XXL.

Xerox's erasable paper featured at Wired NextFest

Xerox Corporation is unveiling its erasable paper to the public for the first time at WIRED NextFest, a showcase of global innovations that are transforming the world. The experimental paper can be printed on again and again, reducing paper use in the office and cutting back waste.

Other breakthroughs in the Xerox display that minimize environmental impact include a printing technology that reduces waste by 90 percent and low-cost water purification that uses less energy than conventional methods. Xerox will also demonstrate printing techniques that make it harder to produce counterfeit documents.

"Xerox has a heritage of discoveries that changed how people interact with information and how businesses communicate." At WIRED NextFest we are revealing advances that you might not have expected from Xerox - technologies that not only help our customers, but will help the world become more sustainable."

Xerox's erasable paper is coated with chemicals that react to light of a specific wavelength. When the paper is exposed to that wavelength, it creates visible text on the page. Within 24 hours, the paper erases itself and can be used again- good news in offices where 40 percent of all printouts are discarded the day they are printed.