event description

The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) through is Retail Academy will conduct the annual ‘Leadership Excellence’ workshop for Retail and Allied Professional for the second consecutive year. Launched in 2017, the success of last year’s event has encouraged the academy to make this an annual event with the objective of developing professionals from the retail sector and industries allied to it. Enhancing knowledge and forging networking opportunities is the ideology of SLRA and this programme is just one such initiative in its comprehensive annual calendar.
The 4-month “Leadership Excellence” training programme which is guaranteed to be informative and content is driven with pre-assessments and post online coaching; will have leading and top retail experts in Sri Lanka speaking and sharing their insights in a bid to groom tomorrow’s retail professionals. The second ‘Leadership Excellence’ training programme is organized in partnership with Sensei International, a global leadership organization headquartered in New York. The SLRA – SENSEI partnership will endeavor to formulate customized Retail Leadership Development programs adding value to the overall Retail industry of Sri Lanka.

The Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker would be Mr Eardley Perera, the founder Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Sri Lanka Branch, a member on the Board of Study of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (PIM), and serves on the boards of multiple companies.

The Industry expert speakers for the sessions will be – Hussain Sadique – Group Director Hameedia, Murali Prakash – Group MD/CEO Taprobane Holdings PLC and Lanka Century Investments PLC, Asoka Peiris – CEO Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd. and Dulith Hearth – Founder Kapruka.com.

Mr. Ranjan De Silva, the Sensei Internationals Partner responsible for its operations in the Asian Region will design and conduct the workshop in concert with the retail experts of the SLRA. Ranjan is a pioneer in the retail industry in Sri Lanka when he was in the team that launched Keells Super in 1992 while serving on the boards of two subsidiaries of JKH.

This 4 months ‘Leadership Excellence’ training programme is professionally planned to take into consideration the skills and competencies of the participants. The training programme which will extend over a period of four months will commence with leadership pre-assessments of participants will be followed by a 2-day workshop and a one-day learning excursion (sandwiched between the two days of the workshop). The programme is designed for the Managers and Executives; grooming to take on the dynamics and challenges of the retail industry. The highlight of the programme which is an excursion will provide the participants with real-life scenarios of three leading organizations – MAS Intimates, Pizza Hut and Keells Super. In addition to this, each participant will work on two projects that will help his/her organization and self over the next 3 months. They will receive specialized coaching sessions with Mr. Ranjan De Silva during this period. The programme will conclude with a final evaluation, where those who complete the process will receive a certificate of leadership excellence.

This ‘Leadership Excellence’ training programme is ideal for professionals of all formats of retail outlets from Mega malls, supermarkets, boutiques, restaurants, and cafes selling any type of product such as grocery, food (restaurants), pharmaceuticals, clothing, shoes, luggage, automobiles, communications, travel, financial services etc. The other flagship events of SLRA envisioned to be held this year are the Sri Lanka Retail Forum, the Sri Lanka Shopping Festival, and the bi-monthly breakfast forums.