Lanka Sathosa scales beyond 400 branches

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – Lanka Sathosa, the country’s largest State-owned retail chain, has expanded its branch network beyond the 400 milestone and began moving for the new target of doubling its branch network on Friday (25).

“We plan to train a lot of bright youth and give them long-term career options” said the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, and Cooperative Development Rishad Bathiudeen on Friday in Silawatura, Mannar.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the crowds of Mannar area who packed the opening event of the 406th store of Lanka Sathosa at Silawatura, Mannar.

“Lanka Sathosa retail network is expanding rapidly. We had only 232 branches when I took over in 2015 and now we are launching the 406th branch,” said Minister Bathiudeen, and added “We are now planning to achieve 500 branches of Lanka Sathosa by this December. With that, we would be more than doubling our branch network from where it was in 2015. As we expand, we are compelled to strengthen our staff total too. We plan to train a lot of bright youth and give them long-term career options, particularly those in rural areas such as here at Silawatura. Therefore, in May 2018 we introduced a compatible skills training project with the support of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) funding to enhance staff-skills.”

Lanka Sathosa, under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, is the largest State-owned retail shop network in the country. It functions as the price setter of many essential items in the domestic retail market with its strong network. To serve the local consumer well, it now employs more than 5,000 staff across the country.