The Ceylon Leather Products (CLP), the largest shoemaker in the country is gearing to re-launch its outlets as ‘DI Leather Boutique' in a move to better penetrate the target clientele while trying to substitute the ‘sub-standard imports’, officials said.
“CLP has seven outlets and about 350 dealers islandwide. Along with our production capacity increases that are planned for this year, CLP is also planning to increase its outlets and franchise shops in urban and semi-urban areas and rebrand them as DI Leather Boutique. This will help us to substitute the shoe imports,” Sitendra Senaratne, Managing Director, CEO CLP told the Business Times.
He said that these shops will sell CLP’s full range of products which include fashion accessories such as bags, belts, small ornaments, etc for the domestic market,” fashion accessories such as bags, belts, small ornaments, etc – apart from shoes for the domestic market. Mr. Senaratne said that as a pilot project CLP already upgraded its Colpetty showroom.
He said the company has started hiring foreign consultants in a bid to infuse fresh fashion sense into CLP’s designs. In 2010 the company launched its exclusive range of footwear, bags, accessories and home-ware. Inspired by nature this range uses natural products to enhance the textured surface of leather. The new designs infuse local hand-woven fabric and natural coconut shells adding spice and allure to the innovative designs.
Mr. Senaratne added that preliminary work to start a design studio at CLP’s Balummahara (Gampaha) premises has already been competed. “We’ll call it Ceylon Leather Design Studio," he said.
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