Business Rendez-vous

Pership thrives on out-of-the-box thinking

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Managing a family business in Sri Lanka and making it stronger is not easy especially when the company is over 150 years. There are traditions that need to be maintained.

However for Managing Director of Pership Group, Niranjan Pereira as long as business is given priority it could surge ahead. “Profits of the company are never subsidised for the family and this is the success of Pership Group,” he said.

Hiring professionals to key management positions is another reason for its success. “While keeping our core business, transportation going we continuously expand in keeping with our present day growth initiatives.

This has taken the group from a still dominant transportation and allied solutions organisation to a more diversified group specialising in international trading, outsourcing and IT, freight, warehousing, leisure and projects,” he said.

All Pership companies are established as independent strategic business units (SBUs).

“We have grown from our traditional activities to a larger and broader vision. Our new vision includes investing in our business and technology to improve the performance on our installed base and the way we actually service it. Through higher technology, we have the ability to go beyond servicing to reengineering the installed base,” Pereira said.

Q: How do you adopt to the changes of the world?

A: Our world is changing. The rate and nature of technological change means that organisations of all kinds in all sectors of business are obliged to act on a global scale, establishing entry into new markets and forming strategic alliances with like-minded partners that will enable them to retain today’s competitive edge tomorrow.

As Pership learns and grows in the 21st century, these traditions of the company become more important.

Q: Representing the sixth generation how do you see the future of family owned companies?

A: Most of them are getting stronger and stronger. The best example comes from India where family owned world famous companies such as Tata, Bajaj, Mahindra and Mahindra and Godrej and many more are flourishing.

Q: What do you think of the ethnic problem?

A: I do not want to get deep into it. However I see that many use it as a platform to make excuses. Whenever a person feels that he cannot go forward in business he brings out various excuses and one common excuse brought by entrepreneurs is the ethnic problem.

They say that if not for the ethnic problem they would be flourishing in business. One should be ambitious and think out of the box to succeed. We see that business leaders who have taken risks, bold decisions and invested in bad times have really succeeded.

Q: What made you diversify in the highly competitive bottled water industry?

A: It was this same philosophy I am talking about that made me invest in a bottled water plant and also become Sri Lanka’s only natural bottled water supplier to USA. We also hold the unique distinction of being the only manufacturer to supply water to US based airlines.

When I wanted to diversify to bottle water there were many who said I was making a mistake as there were over 200 players in the field.

However I saw that there is room for a quality product and decided to invest. Transport has been our forte for generations and I wanted to do something different. Looking back the response is overwhelming and I am happy that I made this investment.

Being a fifth generation member of a diversified group of companies with a history dating back to over 150 years have also given the company enough experience and courage to surge ahead in businesses.

Q: How do you see the transport sector in Sri Lanka?

A: I am sad to say that very little has been done specially in the railway sector as we still see the track laid down by the British being used. The potential in the cargo sector is virtually untapped.

Q: How do you see the assistance provided for the shipping industry by the Government?

A: It’s encouraging to note efforts are made to develop the Ports. This is a must to keep Colombo as a regional hub. I still think Sri Lanka has to import more as the volumes are very low in comparison to the region.

Q: How do you see the local IT industry?

A: There is lot to be done to reach Indian standards.

This his is an industry where there is a lot of potential, which must be put to use. However we are far ahead in the mobile industry.

Q: Where do you like to spend your holidays?

A: I like Nuwara Eliya as the climate is soothing. If it’s in a foreign country I like a Western City wherever there is city buzz of life. I like a metropolitan lifestyle.