Richard Pieris & Co PLC celebrated its top movers and shakers with ‘Breaking Barriers’, the annual sales conference and awards for the local manufacturing and distribution sector.
The gala ceremony was held at Eagles Lakeside Attidiya recently, welcoming sales professionals and distributors who enjoyed an evening of music, dance and recognition for the sector’s best.
The awards aim to recognise accomplishments and motivate the group’s sales force to test boundaries and challenge traditional sales models to achieve their targets for the year. Richard Pieris & Co PLC Main Board Director and Managing Director for the local manufacturing and distribution sector, Sunil Liyanage joined the event as chief guest.
Liyanage, who was also a member of the head table alongside the company’s senior management, highlighted the accomplishments of the company’s manufacturing sector in his speech.
“2015 has turned out to be a dynamic year for our group and with the rapidly changing environment and demographics, our sales teams had to contend with many challenges. Our top performers this year have surpassed their goals and maintained excellent market leadership to ensure that the company is doing better than ever.”
Liyanage also highlighted the company’s tremendous growth record over the past few years. The Richard Pieris group ended its performance in the financial year 2014/15 reporting a group revenue of Rs.37.8 billion with a profit before tax of Rs.2.58 billion.
“We owe a significant part of our financial growth to the sales teams from around the country who have come here today. Your commitment to the company’s success is admirable and it’s a privilege to have you here today.”
The awards ceremony commenced following sector profile presentations for the year. These awards were given away to the company’s star performers who have dominated sales and revenue generation in their respective territories and excelled with customer service. The accolades were awarded in the foam sector, mattresses, sofa and panel category, hardware sector, rubber products, water tank category, rigifoam category, durables and PVC category among others.
Star performers in these categories included: Area Sales Manager Ruwan Chaminda, Area Sales Manager Kokila Dassanayake, Senior Business Development Manager Dilshan Abeysekara, Senior Factory Manager Jayanatha Alwis, Senior Business Development Manager Shiham M. Kalib, Ananda Amarasena - Thineth Lanka Distributors – Veyangoda, Prabhagar - Maweli Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd – Hatton, Gamini Dissanayake, New Seeco Steels – Embilipitiya, G.H.U. Nandalal, Udjitha Distributors – Kandy, Gamini Dissanayake, New Seeco Steels – Embilipitiya, Supun Fernando, Safe Distributors – Anuradapura, Business Promotion Officer Sriyan Sanjeewa, Area Sales Coordinator Chameera de Silva, Area Sales Executive Janaka Laksiri, Area Sales Supervisor Rinooz Abdeen, Area Sales Supervisor Ravi Roshan, Business Promotion Officer Thusitha Dewasurendra, Business Promotion Officer Sameera Madushanka, Area Sales Supervisor Thusara Jayaratne and Area Sales Coordinator Duminda Chanaka.
The overall Best Performers category recognised the sales and management leaders responsible for making vital strategic decisions on behalf of their teams. Similarly, the accolades for the Best Achievers of the Year recognised professionals recording excellent customer PR, growth from sales, area coverage, product display and payments made on time. Prizes presented included foreign tours, cash prizes and promotions.
Commenting on the sizeable number of categories and high achievers that the company felicitated, Director Local Manufacturing and Distribution Sector Shantha Kularathne said, “Our portfolio expands by the day. Each year the group strives to introduce newer, better products to the market and these sales professionals are responsible for ensuring that our customers not only have access to these products but are also satisfied with what they purchase. Their unerring professionalism and commitment have got the job done once again.”