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GSK wins two awards at 2009 'PPA Quiz'

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a leading pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare company secured second and third places at this year's annual Pharma Promoters Association (PPA) Quiz.

"This is the second consecutive year that GSK teams won two of the top three places at the PPA quiz," GSK Sri Lanka Human Resources Director Kumudini S. Welmillage said. She pointed out that last year GSK teams won the 'PPA Challenge Trophy' as well as the third place at the competition.

The questions covered the areas of Sports, International Affairs, Science and Medicine, History and Politics and Business Knowledge (Finance, Economy, Marketing and Management).

GSK competed with 22 teams from other companies in the industry, where each team comprised a cross section of members from the respective companies.

The GSK team adjudged runners up comprised Rajeeve Goonetileke, Monira Rafeek, Ranjith Samarasinghe, Kumudini Welmillage, Shamith Perera and Amila Salgado while the team that won the third place at the competition comprised Suresh Anandappa, Merindra Peiris, M. Zawahir, Tiran Goonerathne, Arshag Ali and Gayan Kumara.

The "PPA Quiz Nite" is one of the main events in the PPA calendar and is much looked forward to by PPA member companies.

It was initiated in 1991 for fostering a sense of togetherness among the PPA fraternity, especially medical promotion delegates.

ComBank MoneyGram :

Winner to fly to Mumbai

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon presented two return air tickets to Mumbai to the winner Balagauri Thanikasalam of the Bank's MoneyGram promotion held during September and October 2008.

Consolation prizes were presented to the first 500 recipients of MoneyGram remittances during the promotion period and all recipients during this period were entered into the final draw for the air tickets, the Bank said. The Commercial Bank signed up with MoneyGram, the global funds transfer company in 2007 to further enhance the Bank's market share in the remittance business and to expand its presence to the other parts of the world, especially North America and Western Europe. The Bank offers remitters the ability to transfer funds quickly from over 152,000 locations in 180 countries and for payments in Sri Lanka to be collected at 170 branches of Commercial Bank.

The benefit of collecting payment through Commercial Bank would be that these funds can be collected even on holidays, at over 40 Holiday Banking and Saturday Banking Centres of the Bank including 23 Supermarket Banking Counters covering most major towns.

Super Market Banking Counters are open till 7.30 pm everyday on a 365-day basis.

Arpico X'mas bonus :

Free shopping for winners

A grand presentation of prizes for the winners of the Arpico Christmas Bonus was held recently where 65 lucky customers who shopped at Arpico Supercentres across the country won the coveted prizes of free shopping at this mammoth and innovative promotion.

Thirty five customers won one month's free shopping worth Rs. 10,000 while 15 winners received three month's free shopping worth Rs. 30,000. There were 10 winners who received free shopping for 6 months worth Rs. 60,000. The grand prize of 12 months' free shopping that amounts to an incredible Rs. 120,000 was won by 5 lucky customers.

One of the lucky grand prize winners Mrs. Rekha Dayawansa of Peradeniya, received Rs. 120,000 worth of free shopping for one whole year and said that she and her family shop regularly at the Arpico Supercentre in Kandy. "It is very conveniently located and I can do my shopping after work. Everything is under one roof and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The service is excellent and it's very spacious. We don't feel the time pass when we shop at the Arpico Supercentre," she added.

"The Arpico Christmas Bonus was an unprecedented success because it captured the hearts and minds of shoppers who were enthralled by the range of exciting opportunities it offered. At Arpico we are always eager to give our customers more than what they usually expect," Marketing Manager Avanthi de Zoysa said. The total prize money given-away during the promotion was worth Rs. 3 million.

Apart from the grand prizes of 'Free Shopping', daily instant prizes of Arpico Gift Vouchers each worth Rs. 500/- were won by over 2,000 lucky shoppers between November 14, 2008 and January 4, 2009. The excitement that added to the festivities was enhanced by over 500 items with discounts up to 30 per cent. Santa had certainly gone to town at the Arpico Supercentres.

Oriflame Lanka produces another Sapphire Director

Oriflame Sri Lanka produced its fourth Sapphire Director Ramly and Dilupa Sourjah who received a cash award of Rs. 400,000 for their latest achievement in the Oriflame success plan. With this title of 'Sapphire Director' they have made a total of Rs. 1,000,000 as cash awards.

Dilupa joined Oriflame as an independent consultant in the latter part of 2001 and in 2006 Dilupa reached the Gold Director title and was joined by her husband Ramly who resigned from his job and continued to climb the ladder of Oriflame success plan together. They are presently holding the 3rd position among the top 15 leaders of Oriflame Sri Lanka. Currently in its 12th anniversary year in Sri Lanka, Oriflame's operations have been on a constant upward spiral.

Oriflame has continuously offered Sri Lankans the ultimate combination of the best of science and nature, for men and women who expect nothing less than the best for their skin, hair and body, as its unique beauty offer. The year 2008 has just been another record year for 'Oriflame'. Oriflame markets a complete range of high-quality natural skincare and colour cosmetics, fragrances, toiletries and accessories products through an independent sales force, outside the traditional retail environment.

Present in 62 countries, Oriflame is the market leader in 30 countries where a sales force of around more than 2.7 million independent Sales Consultants market a complete range of high quality skincare, fragrances and cosmetics.

Oriflame also offers a unique business opportunity to all men and women as a part time or full time career and will have the support from the company to enhance their income.

NOLIMIT loyalty card customers numbers 100,000

NOLIMIT reached its 100,000 customers and their 100,000 Arapaima loyalty card customer is S. R. Hettiarachchi.

"With 100,000 customers, Arapaima is one of the largest loyalty card programs in the retail fashion sector in Sri Lanka. We appreciate our customers' loyalty over the years to NOLIMIT.

The Arapaima loyalty scheme is our way of rewarding our loyal customers," NOLIMIT General Manager, Amjad Hassen said.

We maintain special Arapaima Checkout Counters at all NOLIMIT Glitz showrooms for the convenience of our loyal Arapaima customers.

With the Arapaima card is where customers receive numerous benefits such as points, special offers from merchants and gifts for their loyalty, each and time they shop at any of the 16 NOLIMIT, NOLIMIT Glitz and NOLIMIT Pallu fashion outlets.

Arapaima loyalty customers can even redeem their loyalty points and pay for their purchases at any NOLIMIT outlet at the rate of Rs. 1 for every loyalty point.

NOLIMIT shoppers can join the Arapaima Loyalty Card Scheme by simply filling out and handing over the application form available at all checkout counters of NOLIMIT, the loyalty card will be issued in minutes while you wait.

Arapaima is an easy to use and convenient loyalty card which helps the customers to track their redemption points each time they shop at NOLIMIT.

NOLIMIT's state-of-the-art customer friendly checkout process updates the redemption points available on the invoice itself for hassle free use.

Janashakthi joins hands with Royal College Union

Janashakthi Insurance PLC recently tied up with the Royal College Union (RCU) as its Authorized Insurer and creating history as this is the first time, in Sri Lanka's history that an insurance company has tied up with a past student body.

"We are also happy to create history as the first insurance company to tie-up with a past student body", Managing Director Janashakthi Insurance Prakash Schaffter said.

Secretary of the Royal College Union M. Rizan Nazeer said that Janashakthi has become the first Insurer to join hands with the RCU. With its track record and superior service delivery, a significant aspect that Janashakthi has focused on at all times he has no doubt of the growing success of their partnership.

With its inherent financial strength and stability, Janashakthi Insurance currently enjoys the enviable reputation of having many achievements and creating many industry records in a very short span of time. It was the first and only insurer to acquire a state owned insurance company, and swiftly went on to become Sri Lanka's 3rd largest General Insurer within a short span of time.

Janashakthi portfolio of products and services has created a revolution in Sri Lanka's insurance industry and today encompasses the full spectrum of Motor, Non-Motor and life Insurance.

First jeweller in Asia:

Vogue Jewellers awarded ISO certificate

Vogue Jewellers was awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Certificate making it the only jewellery manufacturer in Asia to receive such a certificate.

The latest version of the ISO 9001 standard was released in November 2008 and Vogue Jewellers was awarded this certification in December 2008, through the largest certification body in India, ICS International.

Vogue Jewellers has maintained its reputation over the years for not only being a reliable jeweller but a jeweller who always delivers value for money to their customers. Since the company's inception in 1962, Vogue Jewellers has stayed true to its commitment and continues to produce fine quality hand crafted jewellery. This unwavering commitment through the years has been recognised by the World and today.

Quality is never an accident at Vogue. It is the result of constantly maintaining high standards coupled with sincere effort by the entire Vogue Team. Maintaining a superior level of quality also requires intelligence, direction and skilful execution. It is this wise choice of so many alternatives that puts Vogue Jewellers as the market leader. Vogue Jewellers considers eight very important quality management principles when serving its customers which is one, focus on the customer. There a jeweller not only understands fashion but he also takes the time to build a relationship with their customers.

It is not the one-off sale that interests Vogue, on the contrary, Vogue looks towards building a long-term relationship of trust and mutual respect with each and everyone of its customers.

Secondly, leadership. The company is led by qualified professionals. An expert to head each area of business bringing in their collective knowledge for the uplift of the product. The commitment to quality starts from the very inception of the piece of jewellery; designing and is carried right throughout the manufacturing process. This process gives Vogue's dedicated team its identity.

Third principle, the Vogue team spirit as the - Vogue Jewellers believes that its achievements would never have been possible without a dedicated team. Decision-making involves the entire Vogue team every time.

Vogue's process approach is their fourth principal where they have a very clear view of its key business process and its support business processes. Vogue educates its personnel on the benefits of this system and believes that education and understanding will always render efficient results at all times.

The fifth principle, systems approach to management has created its own methodology and has created a management culture that ensures maximum efficiency at all times.

Continuous improvement. The company holds an unblemished reputation for which was the founder's vision. With every success the demand for further improvement increases.

Factual approach to decision-making is where the process driven culture at Vogue bears fruit. The company is result oriented and this is reflected in their decision-making process.

A mutually beneficial supplier relationship is the last principle. Vogue Jewellers believes that a mutually beneficial supplier relationship is of paramount importance to maintain the superior quality of its products at all times. Mutual trust and respect amongst its suppliers and craftsmen is another aspect that sets Vogue Jewellers apart from the rest.

Jewellery making is an art. It is a talent. Vogue Jewellers respects all those who come together to create that fine piece of jewellery every single time.

Kelsey Homes to launch 'The Grove'

Kelsey Homes will launch their latest BOI approved housing project 'The Grove' in Piliyandala.

"In our society, owning a home brings pride to the owners, but today, building a house has become so unviable that most have had to postpone owning their dream home.

The concept of 'The Grove' is to make housing more affordable to middle income groups in the country with a two-bedroomed 630sq.ft. home on seven perches of prime land within a secure neighbourhood," Kelsey Homes General Manager Adel Hashim said.

The project will consist of 20 architecturally designed homes with six designs to choose, ranging from a two-bedroomed single storeyed house to a four bedroomed two-storeyed house. 'The Grove' is expected to fulfil the long-felt need of most Sri Lankans. "Despite the houses being very competitively priced, there is no compromise on the quality of construction.

To demonstrate further Kelsey's commitment to high quality, all houses come with an insurance and ten-year structural warranty and a labour and material free defect liability period of 12 months.

Identifying the right location for this development was very important and they chose Piliyandala as it is to the south of Colombo and is surrounded by many other developed towns in its proximity.

The High Level Road and the Colombo-Horana Road border the project.

The Grove provided an ideal location for individuals looking to buy their own home as well as for discerning investors.

Today people are worried about how to invest their hard-earned money. Kelsey Homes have consistently provided a secure return to the investor community, including Sri Lankan expatriates and those wanting to invest in a second home. Semi urban areas are fast becoming popular residential choices and are rapidly appreciating in value, thereby making them a lucrative investment option, he said.

Hashim said that the greatest advantage of buying a Kelsey Home is that they offered a total solution with architectural, engineering, loan facilitation and legal assistance being provided for every customer. All standards had been met in keeping with Kelsey policies such as underground drains and sewage systems, pipe borne water with individual overhead tanks, individual boundary walls, electricity and telephone connectivity.