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Mango opens first store in Colombo

Mango continued its international expansion and remains true to its aim to be present in every major city in the world with the opening of its first store in Sri Lanka.

Softlogic, a leading, dynamic conglomerate in Sri Lanka, having expanded into the branded apparel retail sector, has unveiled yet another global branded store with its tie-up with Mango.

Mango is one of the world’s leading designer labels and is the marketer of the exclusive line-up of Mango branded apparels. Softlogic, having been appointed the authorised franchisee for Mango in Sri Lanka is pleased to open, in collaboration with Mango, the New Mango flagship store in the heart of Colombo.

The elegant Mango store is located at No. 1/1, Bagathale Road, Colombo 3, facing Galle Road.

The store has a single floor at street level with 195 m2 of selling space, with excellent visibility, ample access and parking facilities.

The store features a range of Women’s wear, from trendy casual wear and smart wear to glamour evening wear.

The Mango flagship store in Colombo will also carry a range of accessories for all the fashionistas in town.

Priced very affordably, Mango epitomises style, convenience and versatility and is a must-stop for all ladies during the Season. The interior design of this new store combines functionality with wabi aesthetics, a Japanese term which describes objects or ambiences characterised by their rustic simplicity, combined with a minimalist composition with the warmth of objects originating from nature.

The chosen colour is a natural tone that unifies the floor, walls and ceiling in order to achieve a homogenous look and transmit an image that is pure and fresh. It is a store which has a very clean, natural and minimalist look, in order to give greater protagonism to the clothes.

Mango is Spain’s second largest exporter of women’s fashion. Its concept is based on an alliance between a quality product, in accordance with the latest fashion trends, and an affordable price. The brand image is reinforced by its company-owned stores, which represent a calling card for the brand and create a dynamic image in accordance with the personality of its customers.

Mango, which began its international expansion in 1992 with the opening of two franchises in Portugal, now has more than 2,300 stores in 105 countries and remains Spain’s most international fashion brand.

As a diversified conglomerate, Softlogic has expanded and entered the key growth sectors of retail, healthcare, ICT, Automobiles, Travel and Leisure and Finance and Insurance, holding authorised distributorships for some well-known global brand names.

Softlogic employs over 5000 at its offices in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Australia.

Edna Group inks deal with Dialog Axiata

Dialog Enterprise to provide complete mobile connectivity solution to Edna Group:

Edna Group of Ceylon, one of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka has tied up with Dialog Enterprise to provide mobile communication solutions to the group, which includes Dialog BizConnect; an APN (Access Point Network) solution, allowing sales teams to give real time updates from the field.

Dialog BizConnect APN (Access Point Network) Solution by Dialog Enterprise, the business solutions arm of Sri Lanka's premier mobile service provider Dialog Axiata PLC will enhance productivity and efficiency of organizations by giving real time updates from the field, while on the go. Dialog BizConnect allows real time sales updates from across the Island and also allows optimum cost leadership in other business support services such as inventory management and dispatch services paving the way for better resource management with the organization.

This agreement also covers a complete mobile voice and BlackBerry solution system which will allow the Edna Group management and staff to have seamless voice and data communication services powered by Dialog's island wide coverage.

The new solution further includes an online billing monitoring portal which enables the tracking of billing and usage patterns and report generation. As such, the solutions that are implemented at Edna Group by Dialog Enterprise will help reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies of the company.

"As Dialog Axiata is a leader in innovation and also has the largest geographical coverage in Sri Lanka, they were naturally the first choice for Edna," Edna Group of Companies Group Director Lal Ekanayake said. "The solutions offered by Dialog Enterprise leads to costs savings to the Edna Group which is essential to stay ahead of the curve in today's fiercely competitive market," he said.

Dialog Axiata, with over 2,000 GSM and 1,200 3G base stations and growing is the largest mobile service provider and one of the largest ICT based solutions providers in the Island.

"We are pleased to enter into a strategic business venture with the Edna Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka," Dialog Enterprise and Global Business Group Chief Officer, Suresh Sidhu said.

Expolanka Holdings acquires Norfolk Foods

Further strengthens FMCG brand portfolio:

Expolanka Holdings acquired a controlling stake in Norfolk Foods Pvt Ltd for an investment of Rs.300 million.

Norfolk Foods (Pvt) Ltd enjoys a reputation as a leading entity involved in the manufacturing and marketing of a range of specialized processed foods

"We saw tremendous potential in this company. Not only does it have a wide portfolio of products but parallely enjoys a strong and vibrant customer base both in retail and B2B. With our existing FMCG brands which include T-Sips, Mo-Fruit, Taprobana and Baraka, Norfolk will no doubt further strengthen the current portfolio. It is seen that the Halal meat industry has been growing rapidly in Sri Lanka and across the world which shows growth potential for NFL. In line with this we have plans to further develop the brand name across all markets and increase market share in the near future", said Expolanka Holdings PLC Group CEO, Hanif Yusoof.

A wide range of speciality products made according to high standards of quality have made NFPL the choice supplier to most of the prominent brands in the country. NFPL's clientele extends from the quality conscious luxury and boutique hotels to globally branded five star city hotels. Global fast food franchises go for NFPL while leading supermarkets which have their own brands of further processed meats, offer shelf space to NFPL products.

Envisaging a significant increase in demand NFL recently completed a modernization programme which included new blast freezers, cold rooms and expanded floor area of 32,000 square feet.

With this the NFL will have an integrated production process and is expected to be a model production facility in Sri Lanka with uninterrupted process flow. NFL also boasts of being the first to install a spiral air blast freezing facility in Sri Lanka.