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| Sunday, 17 November 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality Plus - Otara Chandiram : A trend-setter
Paying heed to the smallest of details, personal involvement in every aspect of the business from arranging racks to taking major decisions, determination, commitment, modesty and humbleness are the keys to success for Otara Chandiram, Managing Director of ODEL. Education Chandiram was educated upto Advanced Level at Ladies College, Colombo and went to the United States for her higher studies. She came back to Sri Lanka, armed with a Degree in Biology from the State University of Bowlingreen, Ohio. Career Though she was a graduate in Biology, she started off as a fashion model and continued in this capacity for three to four years. "This is the time I got interested in fashion and fashion design. "By the time I came back from USA, my father had formed the company and registered it under the name ODEL. He had decided on the name by coining my first and second names. The logo, which is very distinct, was designed by a friend. The name too projects a strong identity," she said. "My father had registered the company and even got me a hair care agency from Australia because he did not know what I could do with a degree in Biology." She sold hair care products for a while before venturing out to selling garments. "Moving to garments too was coincidental," she said. One of her friends had a garment factory. She gave the garments to Chandiram who in turn started selling them to friends and acquaintances and after a while started selling to shops as well. "The business was carried out from the boot of my car," said Ms Chandiram. As there was a demand for her garments, she rented a place at Dickmans Road in 1989. "It was about 300-400 square feet and I even painted the walls myself. As it was difficult to do everything by myself, I hired two sales persons who are still working with us." As time went by, she had to use the next floor too and they were expanding before they knew it. Around this time, shopping malls such as Liberty Plaza and Majestic City were coming up and "I thought it was a good way to spread our wings". "During the period from 1993 to 1996, ODEL had a chain of retail outlets at Liberty Plaza, Majestic City and in hotels such as Trans Asia and Mount Lavinia. This was the time people started getting to know the name as well as like the goods sold at ODEL." 1996 saw another page turn in the history of ODEL with the birth of ODEL Unlimited, spanning across 13,000 square feet, at Ward Place. "It was a stepping stone for us as well as for our country," said Ms Chandiram. It created a revolution in the retail fashion industry in Sri Lanka and the way people looked at retail shopping. Two years went by with new additions and they decided to purchase the rear building too. "It was very tiring. My son was born around the same time the building was taken over and everything just happened together. But the entire team worked so hard. My staff members are dedicated. They have been painters, electricians and carpenters when the need arose and they were so keen and eager which gave us the extra determination to succeed," said Ms Chandiram. Today ODEL Unlimited, housed in a 35,000 square foot property, offers customers everything under one roof, making shopping a pleasurable experience. "Everything sold at ODEL Unlimited is what I like and what, I feel, the customer should have and will want to have. Style is what people like in us. I do not sell anything which I do not like. As we always try to cater to all needs, product pricing can vary. Most of our products are sourced from international fashion houses such as Gucci, Calvin Klein and Kenzo and give the customer a choice." Image "ODEL wants to be a leader in fashion, change with the times, and keep up with the trends, but our products must suit Sri Lankan tastes and the local climate," she added. Shops The Dickmans Road outlet now specialises in household items while ODEL Unlimited at Ward Place sells clothes, accessories, jewellery, watches, shoes, plants, home items, books, gadgets, hand-made soaps and aromatherapy oils, environmental-friendly products, and music in addition to exquisite accessories and costume jewellery and a range of designer bags.The newly expanded ODEL Kids houses an adventure play area and a salon in addition to a range of outfits for children. Staff "I started with two people, but have a fairly large, dedicated and hard working staff today. We at ODEL believe in rewarding our staff as it is essential to keep them happy as they are the people who portray the ODEL image to the customer." Customer Care The ODEL staff makes the difference by caring for customers and treating them as kings. "Continuous training and regular feedbacks from customers help our staff to care for customers as we strongly believe in caring for our customers. This is the hardest part of the business." Caring for the environment An environment lover, Chandiram has been involved with projects to care for the environment. "I did not expect it to be what it is today but it is good. We will continue this work as and when we can and do as much as we can," she said. Chandiram said that as a child, her dream was to live in the jungles and do a research project on leopards or elephants. Achievements She has won many awards including the Entrepreneur of the Year 2001, the seventh Zonta Woman of Achievement Award for 'Outstanding Achievement', the SAARC Woman of Achievement award and the TOYP Award. There have been rave reviews on her in international media. Future She said: "We will go overseas in the near future after a few more local expansions. Retail is about keeping up and improving on what we have. We do have a lot of ideas and plan to continuously improve, build and expand the brand. "There are a lot of requests to protect the brand locally as well as internationally due to the presence of fakes. It is difficult and flattering at the same time because we have been able to build this powerful brand from nothing." Family "I am very lucky to have a successful business and a happy family. My family is my strength and support. It includes my husband Raju and kids Kiran and Rakhil as well as my parents Norman and Delysia and two brothers," said a grateful Ms Chandiram. |
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