Great opportunities for retail sector in 2019

Sri Lanka will have a very bright 2019 though the end of 2018 has been unsteady, said Ranjit Page, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Cargills (Ceylon) Plc.

He was speaking at the Sri Lanka Retailers Association (SLRA) AGM at Ramada Colombo. “Year 2019 would have tremendous opportunities for the retail sector and I am very excited looking forward to it.”

The ‘Lonely Planet’ recognizing Sri Lanka as the best tourism destination to travel in 2019 will create huge opportunities for Sri Lanka and it will give a big boost to the retail sector.”

New hotels, large malls and entertainment venues with top international brand names are opening in Sri Lanka and the retail sector should be ready.

Tourists travelling to Sri Lanka too will take back memories with them and here too Sri Lankan brands can impress.

He predicted that the future of Sri Lanka would be driven by the service sector.

Business should be ready to change and adapt to new demands and the 100 year old Cargill’s story and how it helped Sri Lanka to move to the super market shopping concept is one example to this.

Youth working in the Sri Lanka retail sector should be considered professionals and not treated as common labours, he said. To reach this goal staff should be more educated and an academy similar to the hotels school should be created.