Traded as CSE: ODEL.N0000 Founded 1990 | ||
Products Ladieswear, Menswear, Kidswear, Homewear, Sports, Delight, Perfume & Cosmetics, Books & Music, Shoes and Handbags, Jewellery, Luggage, Food, Stationary, Gift Wrap and Souvenirs Parent organization Softlogic Retail (Private) Limited Subsidiaries Odel Lanka (pvt) Ltd, Odel Apparels (pvt) Ltd Profiles | ||
Odel sri lanka best shopping in colombo sri lanka
Odel (stylized as O▷ΞL and ODEL) is public retailing company, the first in Sri Lanka. Starting out as a single company focusing on the retail garment trade, Odel has over the years developed and become the first department store in Sri Lanka.
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History
The company's started when Otara Gunewardene began selling factory surplus garments and apparel from her car boot to family and friends in 1989.
Gunewardene registered Odel (the name is based on her own name, Otara Del Gunawardene) as a private limited liability company on 31 October 1990 and the company opened its first 37 m2 (400 sq ft) store on Dickmans Road in Colombo. In 1994 they opened their second store in Majestic City and by 1995 the company had a total of nine stores located in city hotels and shopping centres throughout Colombo.
In 1996 Odel opened its 930 m2 (10,000 sq ft) flagship store in Alexandra Place, Colombo, which was further expanded to 3,700 m2 (40,000 sq ft) in 2000. In 2005 the company opened a store in the departure/transit lounge of Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, as a part of an initiative in conjunction with the Airport Expansion Project. Odel opened two more stores in Kohuwela and Ja-Ela.
In 2009 they opened a further three stores in Nugegoda, Mount Lavinia and Moratuwa. The following year the company opened another three stores in Panadura, Maharagama and Battaramulla. On 24 February 2010 it was converted into a public limited liability company and in July Odel became the first fashion retail business to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
In 2012 the company opened stores in Wattala, Kiribathgoda and in the Kandy City Centre shopping complex, the first store outside the Western Province. Odel also launched Luv SL - a concept store carrying stylish souvenirs and products catering to locals and tourists - opening Luv SL stores at the Queen's Hotel, Kandy and the Old Colombo Dutch Hospital shopping precinct.
In July 2012 Parkson Retail Asia Limited purchased a 41.82 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1.424 billion.
In October 2013 Odel opened a store in the K-Zone Ja-Ela super mall and in November a Luv SL concept store in Negombo, with a further Luv SL store opening in Galle Fort in February 2014. On 11 September 2014 Gunewardene sold her majority shareholdings in Odel PLC to the Softlogic Group for LKR 2.7 billion. Softlogic has subsequently increased its shareholding and at 30 June 30 2016, they held a 96.67 percent stake in the company.
In 2015 the chairman of Softlogic, Ashok Pathirage, announced that they had closed down some of the stores, including those at Maharagama and Ja-Ela, and were evaluating other outlets. Pathirarage also advised that the company would be upgrading the flagship store in Ward Place, with the construction of an adjoining ‘Mega Mall’ within the next three years.
In 2016 Odel relocated its store in Wattala opening a new two storey 840 m2 (9,000 sq ft) outlet on Negombo Road. Odel also re-launched its food court at its flagship store as 'The Promenade', a bistro with a number of bars and restaurants.
Growth
Odel's product mix contains more than 1,500 different items, with a majority of those sourced locally. The Odel brand has seen significant growth in the past few years post-acquisition by the Softlogic Group and is now expected to reach greater heights with group synergies coming together. Odel’s stakeholder network has widened to over 800 employees, over 1,000 suppliers and 200 plus factories locally and globally supplying Odel with a diverse range of products.