Employees of the Brandix Group, Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter, donated 3,448 units of blood in 2015, earning the appreciation of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NTBS), which recently presented the Group with a special plaque for being the largest corporate blood donor in the country.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Brandix was acknowledged as the largest donor of blood among private sector organisations that donate annually to the NTBS.

The blood collected at Brandix factories in Sri Lanka in 2015 was the second highest volume contributed by the Group to the NTBS in a single year, and took Brandix’s cumulative contribution over the past nine years to 20,423 units.

“Our associates continue to be committed to support the annual blood donation drive the Group conducts with the support of the National Blood Transfusion Service,” said Col. Sujith Jayasekara, Senior General Manager – Group Works HR at Brandix. “Their sense of civic consciousness and social responsibility is inspiring, and amply justifies continuing and expanding this initiative. We will look at sustaining the next donation campaign throughout the year in collaboration with the NTBS.”

Among the highest contributing locations of Brandix’s 2015 blood donation campaign were Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited (BASL) – Athleisure, Polonnaruwa with 368 units, the most by a single factory to date; BASL – Essentials, Koggala with 262 units and BASL – Lingerie, Wathupitiwala with 249 units. The provinces covered were the Western, Southern, North Central, Sabaragamuwa and North Western provinces.

According to the NTBS, donations of this scale over a significant time period are necessary to meet the organisation’s requirements. By being geographically widespread, the Brandix campaign increases supplies of blood in many areas, including those that do not usually receive donations of significant volume compared with areas like Colombo. Brandix’s blood donation campaigns are also extra significant as they are conducted on weekdays instead of the general norm of weekends. This is particularly helpful in sustaining blood platelets, which have a lifespan of five days, for use during the course of the week. Brandix was also commended for the timing of its blood donation campaign, as the NTBS had experienced a shortage of blood during the September – December period of last year.

The Brandix Group employs more than 48,000 people at 42 operations in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh and is one of the largest suppliers of apparel to top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.

A second batch of Brandix associates that completed the Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) programme for female workers in the apparel industry graduated recently at Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited (BASL) – Casualwear, Ratmalana.

The batch comprised of 143 associates and took the number of Brandix associates that have completed the P.A.C.E. course to date to 293.

The P.A.C.E. programme is a life and work skills education programme designed by Gap Inc. to positively impact female garment workers in factories that manufacture for the label. The programme provides workers with foundational skills, technical training and support to help them advance in the workplace and in their personal lives.

The course comprises of eight modules of life skills education including Communication; Problem Solving & Decision Making; Time & Stress Management; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Financial Literacy; Legal Literacy & Social Entitlement; General & Reproductive Health; and Execution Excellence. Research shows P.A.C.E. graduates are more productive, have lower rates of absenteeism and are promoted faster than factory workers who do not participate in the programme. The P.A.C.E. programme is run in apparel factories in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

“The content of the P.A.C.E. course has been proven to motivate and empower female workers to progress in their careers,” Anusha Alles, Head of CSR & Corporate Communications at Brandix said. “This is an aspect that Brandix remains committed to as a Group, and we are greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm of our associates to follow the course and obtain P.A.C.E. certification.”

In another example of the Group’s commitment to the empowerment of female employees, Brandix recently graduated 19 female mechanics who completed an in-house training course on sewing machine maintenance and repair.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in 2016 by Brand Finance, Brandix is the country’s single largest apparel exporter. The pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.

Company wins coveted World Textiles award for 2nd consecutive year

Textured Jersey Lanka PLC (TJ Group) benchmarked yet again with an outstanding win at the World Textile Awards for the second consecutive year. The Company who won ‘Firm of the Year’ in 2014 was the only Sri Lankan Textile Manufacturer to be recognised at the prestigious awards this year, with the ‘Dyer & Finisher of the Year’ award for 2015 for the second year running.

Currently one of the largest textile manufactures in the region, with a satellite plant based in India too, TJ was selected for the honour from amongst worldwide competitors representing different areas of textile and apparel manufacturing. The world’s best pitted their industry knowledge and expertise at this premier event, with TJ walking away with one of the key accolades of the evening.

As is its practice, the World Textile Awards take their candidates through a stringent selection process, prior to being judged by an elite panel – some of the most respected in the industry across the world; drawn from leading international textile organisations and institutions.

Headquartered in London the awards’ mission is to provide a global platform to reward excellence amongst outstanding textile companies in the industry from fibre production to end stitched products. Judging criteria include a number of different aspects such as the company’s market position, technical performance, environmental and sustainability practices, quality control, employee programmes etc.

CEO of the TJ Group, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne commending his team on the win said that winning this prestigious award for the second time reflects the talent, expertise and passion of his team, “This is great recognition and clearly shows what we as a team are capable of achieving. This has been a roller coaster year for us, making our presence felt in the industry not only through the acquisitions we’ve made but also with the great results we’ve shown overall in terms of financial stability and growth. We have made breakthroughs into new and innovative areas of textile production and these are exciting times for the Company. This award is an affirmation and an inspiration for us to do bigger and better things. Combined with our strong competencies, globally strong shareholders and a rich heritage, we are poised on the threshold of a new era to provide our world class clients not just the best quality product but new innovation tailor made for them.”

TJ who is top of the class for their fabric innovations and reputed to meet the highest international standards in product quality, has continued to win numerous industry accolades through the years, receiving a number of awards for Sustainability as well as Quality and Performance both locally and internationally.

Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, with a current Market Capitalisation of around Rs. Twenty Three Billion, Textured Jersey Lanka is backed by two leading industrialists – Pacific Textiles Hong Kong and Brandix Lanka as its main shareholders. The company supplies to some of the best international brands including Marks & Spencer, Victoria’s Secret, Intimissimi, Tezenis and Calvin Klein.

100 top supply chain partners congregate in Sri Lanka to recognise performance and prepare for future

Inspired performances by supply chain partners in FY 2015-16 contributed to the best year to date for apparel powerhouse Brandix, which honoured its top vendors at a gala Vendor Summit in Sri Lanka last week.

The top 100 vendors from the 350 that account for Brandix’s annual raw material spend attended the summit, half of them from 14 overseas locations. Presenting these key suppliers with an insight into the dynamics that propel the industry and a glimpse into the future, Brandix forecast it would double sales in the next five years, through a concentration on speed, quality, innovation and price.

Brandix had 530 vendor partners on its supply chain when the Group hosted its last Vendor Summit in 2011. While its business grew by 63 per cent in the five years that followed, the number of vendors supplying raw materials reduced to 350, and could fall to 150 by 2020, the summit was told.

“Our industry is one of intense competition where the dynamics are highly emotional on the one hand, and quite rational on the other,” Brandix Group Chairman Priyan Fernando said in his keynote address titled ‘A journey to best-in-class.’ “Brandix recognises both elements, the emotional and the rational, in its effort to produce phenomenal products better, faster and cheaper,” he said emphasising the need for continuous improvement through a focus on processes, speed and comprehensive management of risks.

Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar cautioned that 2016 would be a ‘rough year’ given the headwinds that the retail industry is facing, but said the Group is confident it will ride the storm successfully and prevail with the support of its supply chain partners.

Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar cautioned that 2016 would be a ‘rough year’ given the headwinds that the retail industry is facing, but said the Group is confident it will ride the storm successfully and prevail with the support of its supply chain partners. Presentations were also made by Ranga Ranmadugala, CEO of Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited – Essentials and Brandix Lanka Chief Financial Officer, Hasitha Premaratne among others who spoke on Speed, Agility and Inspired Solutions, as well as Brandix’s long range plan respectively.

Brandix recognised the contributions of its best supply chain partners at this event with awards in two groups, one for ‘speed partners’ and one for top vendors in 12 categories, covering suppliers of bra cups & padding; packaging; thread; packing trims; sewing trims; labels, tags & stickers; lace; embellishments; elastics; knitted synthetic fabric; woven fabric and knitted woven fabric. A total of 33 awards were presented, including 19 Speed Partner awards.

The top award of the night — presented to Brandix’s Vendor of the Year — was won by Pacific Textiles Ltd., while the award for the Best Stall at the Vendor Road Show that preceded the summit was won by Coats Thread Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country’s leading brands, Brandix is the pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and is a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group employs more than 48,000 people in its manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, at the Brandix India Apparel City in Andhra Pradesh and its large operation in Bangladesh.

In recognition of the valuable contribution of Brandix, which has been the largest donor of blood in the private sector for the past six years, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) awarded the company an Honorary Memento at a ceremony to mark World Blood Donor Day on the 14th of June. Employees of Brandix donated 3,448 units of blood in 2015 alone. In the picture, the Brandix Group’s Chief People Officer Ishan Dantanarayana (extreme right) receives the memento from Dr P. G. Mahipala, Director General of Health Services. Dr Anil Dissanayake, Director of the NBTS is also in the picture.

The Brandix Group’s continuing efforts to improve access to water in rural communities resulted in 367 water supply projects being completed in 2015-16, Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter reports.

The projects implemented included wells, pipe-borne water connections, water supply systems, tube wells, deep tube wells, rainwater harvesting systems and water filters over the 12 months, all funded or donated by the Group under its ‘Care For Our Own’ (CFOO) initiative.

The projects benefitted families in far-flung villages in 18 districts of Sri Lanka, including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Ampara, Hambantota, Matara, Moneragala, Puttalam and Badulla.

The primary beneficiaries of these projects are Brandix employees with identified needs, but in many instances, they serve an extended beneficiary group as the water supply system provided is shared with several families similarly affected.

The case of two beneficiaries, Gopalapillai Gajenthini of Kadukamunai, and Rajendran Pushpamalar of Chinna-urani, both living two kilometres from the closest source of water in the Batticaloa District, are typical examples. They received a well apiece from Brandix, and Gajenthini who lives with her mother and four siblings, shares her well with seven other families, while Pushpamalar who lives with her parents and two children shares hers with ten other families.

“Access to clean water remains a serious problem in many villages despite efforts by the authorities to address this basic need,” said Anusha Alles, Head of CSR & Corporate Communications at Brandix. “Over the past ten years, Brandix has completed more than 3,000 water supply projects via the Care For Our Own programme, but we will continue to identify and assist families in need of help in the years ahead.”

The Ratnapura District with 63 projects topped the beneficiary districts in Brandix’s Care For Own Programme in 2015-16, followed by Polonnaruwa with 60, Kurunegala with 57, Kegalle with 55 and Gampaha with 35, the Group said. Interviews to identify beneficiaries in the current financial year are scheduled to commence in July.

In addition to these projects, Brandix has in previous years partnered with several corporate entities to build large community water supply projects for areas or institutions that are faced with serious water shortages.

In a separate, but cause-linked initiative titled ‘Jalavahini,’ the Group is conducting a series of interactive training programmes across the country to empower women community leaders involved in water resources management in rural Sri Lanka.

The Brandix Group’s principal CSR efforts are driven by the central corporate theme of ‘Water’ and constitute a long term commitment to increasing the availability of water and the provision of safe drinking water to those most in need. These projects are planned and executed by the Bindu Foundation – the CSR arm of Brandix. The Group’s community outreach initiatives also include providing wells and pipe-borne water to communities in and around its manufacturing plants and the improvement of sanitation facilities in needy areas.

    

The Brandix Group has won two top awards including the award for Outstanding Vendor  Overall Excellence from Gap Inc., a leading global retailer of clothing.

The awards, presented at the Gap Inc. Global Supply Chain’s 2016 Vendor Summit in Hong Kong, recognise Brandix’s contribution to Gap in terms of business volumes, product quality, speed and flexibility, on-time delivery and response to in-market issues. The second award presented to Brandix was for ‘Outstanding Vendor Performance ‘ Bottoms.

The Brandix Group also won Gap Inc.’s 2015 Supplier Award for Product Innovation at an awards presentation in San Francisco last year.

One of the largest retailers in the USA with over US$ 16 billion in sales, Gap Inc. has an extensive base of global vendors many of them considerably larger than Brandix. Gap Inc. retails clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and Intermix brands.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country’s leading brands, Brandix is the pioneer of the concept of total solutions in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and is a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly apparel manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group employs more than 48,000 people in its manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, at the Brandix India Apparel City in Andhra Pradesh and its large operation in Bangladesh.

The Brandix Group has come forward to support the hosting of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) in Sri Lanka in October as ‘Exclusive Apparel Partner’ and Platinum sponsor of this prestigious event.

Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter, Brandix will be one of the principal corporate sector partners of the Export Development Board (EDB), which is a joint organiser of the 2016 Forum with the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Between 400 and 600 international and local delegates are expected to attend the WEDF sessions in Colombo on 12th and 13th October 2016. The theme for the Forum, the 16th of its kind, is ‘Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change.’

“We believe the World Export Development Forum represents an excellent opportunity for Sri Lanka to effectively showcase the depth and maturity of its capability as an exporter, not just of apparel, but of many other exciting and complex products,” Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar said. “As a Group that is driven by the power of inspiration, Brandix is committed to collaborate with the EDB to make this year’s event a resounding success.”

A unique global conference and business-to-business matchmaking event dedicated to supporting trade-led development, the WEDF is expected to look at the changed game in sustainable trade and its impact on businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of economies.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country’s leading brands, Brandix is the pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and is a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly apparel manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group employs more than 48,000 people in its manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, at the Brandix India Apparel City in Andhra Pradesh and its large operation in Bangladesh.