The 4th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) was held on December 17, 2020 as a virtual meeting. Former president Mr. Kodikara stated the aims of the Association.
Established in 2015, the Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association has an ambitious Vision to ‘Achieve Retail Excellence’ and it strives to be the ‘Voice of the Retail industry in Sri Lanka’. The SLRA aims to educate retailers as to how they could work together to improve standards of retailing in an inclusive manner, improve consumer service in all facets of retailing, and facilitate the growth of the Retail industry through innovation.
The key initiative of the association for the Year 2019/20 is the ‘Leadership Excellence’ training conducted for retail and allied professionals.
During the course of the year, the SLRA also host the executive directors’ virtual meeting of Federation of Asia Pacific Retail Association in July 2020 and attended the Head of Directors meeting in December 2020 of FAPRA.
SLRA was nominated to be the host country for Asia Pacific Retail Exhibition and Conference 2024, which is flagship event of FAPRA.
Office bearers for the Year 2020/21: Murali Prakash – Group Managing Director & CEO, Ambeon Capital & Ambeon Holdings PLC is the President of SLRA. Charitha Subasinghe – CEO, Jay Kay Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd; and Infiyaz Ali – CEO, Healthguard Pharmacy Pvt. Ltd. serve as the Vice Presidents.
The newly appointed Executive Council for the year 2020/21: General Secretary Ms. Kaushalya Perera; Director, D. Samson & Sons (Pvt) Ltd, Asst. General Secretary – Dinesh Perera; Director, Abans PLC, Treasurer – Mahesh Wijewardena; CEO, Singer Sri Lanka PLC, Asst. Treasurer – Ajith Amarasekara, Sector Chair; Durables including Households & Consumer Electronics – Asoka Pieris; Director, Cargills Ceylon PLC and Hatton National Bank PLC, Sector Chair; E commerce – Dulith Herath; Founder, Kapruka.com (Pvt) Ltd, Sector Chair; Entertainment, Restaurant & QSR- Ms. Ruvini Kariyawasam; Corporate Manager, Perera & Sons Bakers (Pvt) Ltd, Founder President – Hussain Sadique; Deputy Managing Director, Hameedia, Past President, Sidath Kodikara, Council Member – Rakhil Fernando; Managing Director, Kaymu Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
The newly elected president Mr. Prakash stated, “The changes in retail landscape over the past decade have been very significant. Interwoven with speed and technology, this sector remains one of the most vibrant yet challenging. From a Retailers Association point of view, we would envisage a future where the country would be positioned as a retail hub, giving further impetus to the already focused tourism sector. Our aim is to build that ultimate retail excellence across the country, which will contribute to enhance customer, community and business interest alike”.
