Thread Works recreates essence of Velona with new factory

By Cheranka Mendis

Thread Works Ltd., the owners of the longstanding ‘Velona’ brand, yesterday officially opened its latest factory in Moratuwa, following an investment of over Rs. 75 million.

Via the new initiative, Thread Works also aims to recreate the essence of Velona brand, which the former acquired in 2008.

Since the takeover the business had enjoyed good growth, with volume turnover amounting to half a million pieces per month.

The new factory was set up as the company saw the need to build the brand from a location closer to Colombo in order to foster growth. Prior to this, the company operated production and sewing units in multiple locations.

“There is always value growth,” Thread Works Chairman and CEO Gehan De Soysa said. “Our eyes are however set on a volume growth,” he added.

For decades Velona has been a brand name that has been inextricably entwined into the very fabric of the Sri Lankan clothing industry and still occupies a very special place in the minds of the Sri Lankan consumers.

A home grown brand established by Ruskin Fernando in 1940, it reached the pinnacle of success during the 1970s and ’80s to become the largest manufacturer of both textiles and apparel in the country.

Although the brand had slipped into a relative lower profile operation, Velona is being launched and given a fresh modern outlook by a young entrepreneur who has already taken the brand beyond the shores of the emerald isles.

With the recent venture Thread Works has taken steps to enhance the Velona brand through high quality packaging and products. The latest product range is labelled under the brand name Thread Works by Velona, offering customers a fresh image along with the high standard that they have trusted for years.

De Soysa noted that the company had come a long way since its beginning in 2000 with just two employees, of which he was one. Started as a 100% export-oriented company, Thread Works progressed fast and attracted clients of the likes of Adidas, Life is Good, Billabong and Crocs.

With his ambition being to create his own brands and market in Sri Lanka and later take it international, Soysa in 2006 switched from the lucrative export business to start developing the local market. Within two seasons, the company went from being a 150,000 pieces per month buying office to zero.

“While many including banks thought it was sheer madness, I let go of the volume at the time to pursue the local market. Most economists had written Sri Lanka’s economy off; the outlook painted by them was not a good one,” he said.

Proving them wrong and with faith in the local economy, Soysa embarked on a journey that has come a long way since then. “I believed in the local economy. And battered by a decade of war, my thinking was it could not get worse than the state at which was at the time.”

He noted that the timing for the transition proved good with the credit crunch in 2007 affecting most of his clients abroad. “Most had to cut down their buying power from about 70%. It was a good call for us.”

Today Thread Works has six prominent brand labels that have made it big in the apparel industry: Body Fit, Top Gear, Superknit, Arista, Velona and the latest member Velona Cuddles. “We have gone from near obscurity to high brand levels.” Talking about the products Soysa, noted that Body Fit is a posture correcting flab reducing garment for men which is exclusively being sold at Hameedia. Claiming that the product is a hit in the local market, he said that the garment brings the shoulders together and even reduces one inch off the waist without pressing in the stomach. “Pieces such as Body Fit are scientifically manufactured,” he noted. Top Gear is today the market leader in underwear for men category while Superknit is the market leader in its field. Research has also showed that Arista is among the top five clothing outlets for kids in the age range of zero to 14 in Sri Lanka. The brand concentrates on the high end market and has a unique boutique outlet as well.

Operating on a vertically-integrated system that includes fabric knitting and weaving as well as distribution and retailing of textiles and apparels, the company in 2011 sent out the first exports under their own brand name to Ghana, Maldives and Australia.

In 2012, the local consumers can expect more new products to enter the market, he acknowledged. In March, Thread Works will introduce a new diaper range ‘Velona Cuddles,’ which he said will “revolutionise the diaper market in Sri Lanka”.

“It will have functionalities that have never been incorporated for diapers before. It will be of a superior level and will have functionalities that even Huggies, the world’s best diapers, does not have.”

Excited about the upcoming launch, he noted that the product would be priced at an affordable level. The diapers are said to be manufactured to world class standards and will offer a triple elastic ear patch, prevents leakages with a high absorbent space and come with an elastic waist band that keeps the baby comfortable and snug. The wetness indicator on the diaper alerts when the diaper needs to be changed.

Speaking of the company, Soysa noted that the acquiring of the household brand Velona further extended the company’s line of brands and products. “Velona was started by my grandfather Ruskin Fernando in 1940, which reached the pinnacle of success during the 1970s and ’80s to become the largest manufacturer of both textiles and apparel in the country.”

With the acquiring of Velona, the company took steps to enhance the Velona brand through high quality packaging and products. The latest product range is labelled under the brand name ‘Thread Works by Velona,’ offering customers a fresh image along with the high standard trusted for years.

“We are proud to be the owners of this hallowed brand, which has enormous growth potential given the right direction. I am a firm believer of creating and establishing our own home grown brands, nurturing them and growing them beyond our shores. We have much talent in this country and if harnessed correctly we have the capability and the resources to create brand and through them products which will be an instant hit internationally,” he said.