Akzo Nobel ‘Achievers’ taken to Turkey

Monday, 11 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Thirty-eight of Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka Ltd.’s top contributors during the months from May to July 2013 – referred to as ‘Channel Partners’ – visited Turkey on a week-long study tour sponsored by the company during the month of October 2013.

As the tour is primarily an educational tour, one of the key highlights was the visit to the Akzo Nobel factory in Istanbul and also the retail outlets that have become world class decorative paint centres. Akzo Nobel is the leader in the paint industry in the Turkish market with a 25% market share with brands such as Marshall, Cuprinol, Hammerite, Herbol and Marshall Thermos.

Trip highlights A visit to the Grand Bazaar, a shopping paradise of 4,000 authentic shops, was also in the itinerary. Apart from the visits covering the trade, the Channel Partners were taken on the Byzantine and Ottoman relics tour to visit the Blue Mosque, Roman Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia and the Imperial Palace. A visit to the Rustempasha mosque and a cruise on the Bosphorus, the strait dividing the Asian and European continent, had also been arranged. “This is how Akzo Nobel recognises our top contributing business partners. Our channel partners are a part of the Akzo family and each learns a lot from their counterparts across the world, because they are uniquely placed as a part of the world’s largest paint network. This is the distinction of being associated with the world’s largest coating company,” a company spokesman said. Awards ceremony Apart from the tour, an awards ceremony was also held during the cruise through the Bosphorus to reward top achievers in 2013 and also recognise especially the best practices of some unique channel partners. It is notable to say that the Best Practice awards were based on the outlet modernisation project following the visit to China on last year’s study tour arranged by the company whereby they had made improvements to their outlets based on the Colour Solution Centre concept detailed by the company. Akzo Nobel Paint Lanka, the market leader and household name for paints in Sri Lanka, is a subsidiary of Akzo Nobel – the largest coatings producer in the world and the owner of the most successful brand, ‘Dulux’.