Sri Lanka a gateway despite recession

Harshini PERERA

Despite the economic recession in the world, the situation in Sri Lanka will definitely ensure market expansion and Sri Lanka will be a gateway for other markets too, Vice President, International Operations of Godrej Sara Lee Ltd., Mohan V. Sapre told Daily News Business.

Godrej Sara Lee, is familiar to Sri Lankans as Goodnight, Kiwi shoe polish and Kiwi Cream is freely available.

"The opening of the North and East will definitely broaden our sales since consumers especially since the Northern province has access to Cable TV networks of India; thus they are quite familiar with the brand and that might result in a boom in sales", he said.

Since the market is expanding, Godrej Sara Lee set up a manufacturing plant in Colombo recently which exports products to the Fiji Islands, a BOI project and they hope to increase exports while manufacturing consumer products in Sri Lanka. They have introduced a range of hair creams including Brylcreem and innovative household electronic devices.

Mohan said that the hard fought for peace in Sri Lanka will see the country develop at a pace, giving businesses access to new markets and product placement opportunities. In terms of market development, the Godrej Sara Lee's Brand Portfolio, Mohan sees Sri Lanka as a 'young' market with lots of opportunities for brands to grow and mature as the market does.