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| Sunday, 22 January 2006 |
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EDB trade centre in Chennai to step up sales by Surekha Galagoda The first overseas trade centre set up at the Spencer Plaza in Chennai by the Export Development Board (EDB) in 2004 February plans to increase sales by advertising in The Hindu and in the Yellow Pages and also in the complex. "We have sent the proposal to the Chairman of the EDB Brian Angunawala and are awaiting approval, a spokesman for the centre said. At present the Sri Lanka Trade Centre(SLTC) is yet to generate the expected sales due to lack of publicity, customers not coming to the third phase and awareness about Sri Lankan goods. The Sri Lanka Trade Centre is within the third phase of the Spencer Plaza in an area of 18,973 square feet. The Trade Centre houses 12 shops which include Lionco, Hemachandra's, Stone n' String, Okapi, Dankotuwa, DSI, Nature's Secret, Sara O Z Leather, Sri Lanka Tea Stall (Mlesna), True Organix and Siddhalepa. "We can accommodate five more shops. He said that Sifani Gems will open a shop at the Centre shortly. The spokesman said that most customers come to the first and second phase but not the third and this is also one major reason for the drop in sales. We are planning to fill the space within one to two months and are also planning to have a Sri Lankan food festival to attract people to the Trade Centre," he said. Lionco representative, D. Gunasekeran said that they are happy about sales, but added that only phase three gets about 10-15 customers daily while the other two phases get more than 100 customers a day. Therefore awareness is necessary to increase sales. The pillows moves fast compared to other items in his showroom. Siddhalepa Representative S. Subrayan said that sales are good but if there is more awareness in the local media we can increase sales as all the items sold here are of quality. Another representative said that a Sri Lankan tour operator must be encouraged to set up an office in the trade centre as this would attract more customers. He said that more promotions are needed while advertising is vital to step up sales. He said that since the affluent class resides in Bombay, Bangalore and Delhi the Trade Centre should have been set up in one of these cities and then a branch should have been set up in Chennai later which would have been more productive. The EDB should also have better links with the business community in Chennai to develop the Trade Centre, he said. The SLTC was established during the tenure of Ratna Sivaratnam after the signing of the FTA between Sri Lanka and India. Prior to the opening of the SLTC a market survey undertaken by the Indian Market Research Bureau identified the location and the products to be displayed at the Centre. According to an EDB press release 20,000 square feet of space has been
leased in the second floor of the Spencer Plaza at a cost of Indian Rs 120
per square foot inclusive of basic services such as electricity, water,
janitorial services and maintenance. Rs 25 million has been invested to
construct stalls and design the interiors. |
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