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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality plus Darshan Senaratne : Full speed ahead
Family Senaratne was born as the eldest son to a family of two children; a boy and a girl. His father was a planter by profession while his mother was a teacher. Education From Grade One until completing school, he studied at Royal College, Colombo where he did Commerce subjects for his Advanced Level examination. Career "Soon after completing my schooling, I joined Richard Peiris and Company Ltd. where I received an overall training in the motor spare parts business. "In 1984, I joined Brown and Company Ltd. to handle the sales of Suzuki vehicles," he said. Turning Point "In 1985, I was offered a job in the Middle East. I took up this challenge since it was in the field of sales. I was there for three years during which time I learnt a lot; I practise these even now. The experience expanded my horizons". Arrival After coming back to Sri Lanka from the Middle East, Senaratne joined Swedish Trading Co Ltd. as a Sales Promotion Officer. Within double quick time, he was promoted as Assistant Sales Manager, Sales Manager, Marketing Manager and to his present position of Assistant General Manager due to his hard work and dedication. Responsibility "Today, as the Assistant General Manager, I look after the Volvo vehicles Sales Division. The entire Volvo sales operation comes under me," he added. "When I started in this area, Volvo was only a brand name in the Sri Lankan vehicle market, but now the situation has changed and Volvo is on par with other vehicle brand names such as Mercedes Benz". Customer Awareness In the early days, customers were scared to purchase Volvo vehicles because there were no vehicles of this brand on the road; therefore, they thought that spare parts and maintenance will be a problem. However, since Swedish Trading Co Ltd. (STCL) was a reputed name in the vehicle import business, people had faith in the company. Once Volvo became popular, STCL also gained more popularity. Sales Senaratne said: "We have been doing well and are in the process of expanding. At present, we are looking at the possibility of getting two more car agencies under the STCL name". He said there will be some new Volvo models, including the S40, in the market in the near future. Advice He said that listening to customer complaints is the key to success as the customer is always correct. "We have to listen to customers and make them comfortable if we are to increase our sales in the future. "At present, in Sri Lanka, vehicle owners change their vehicles once in four years. Therefore, we have to make the customer feel happy and safe if we are to retain our business and increase our sales," he noted. Future "I want to reach the top in my career some day; this is my dream," he said. (SG) Fact File |
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News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Hard work and the support of his wife are the pillars of success for
Assistant General Manager, Swedish Trading Co Ltd., Darshan Senaratne.
