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Local clothing firm appeals to expat Lankans to help grow international sales to earn forex for Lanka

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/5

Ranil Willaddarage, CEO and founder of GFlock, addressing the media in Colombo. Pic by Thushara Athapaththu

A 100% Lankan clothing brand competing with several global companies on e-commerce platforms appeals to the Sri Lankan expatriate community to help grow the company’s international sales volume and bring in much needed foreign currency to Sri Lanka at this crucial hour for the country.

Ranil Willaddarage, CEO and founder of GFlock says, “This is not a charity appeal. This is a win-win transaction for Sri Lankan expatriates across the world that offers value for their hard-earned foreign currency, and the money in turn being used to import essential commodities for their fellow countrymen. As a nation, we have hit rock bottom. The only way to go if we keep on fighting with each other is six feet under. We cannot start attacking each other again, destroy public property, set fire to private assets and fall even further. Everyone has to come together as a nation and overcome this terrible situation.”

When asked to elaborate on his solution to the foreign exchange crisis, he says, “Our company offers a sustainable solution that can help save this country. Most of our Sri Lankan expatriate community purchases their clothing from brands such as Zara, Mango, Myer, Uniqlo, H&M, and Shein. Most of these brands are based in Europe and other developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Sri Lankans living in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe tend to spend an average amount of $300-$500 as their annual clothing budget on aforementioned foreign brands. My kind request to our Sri Lankan communities abroad is to spend their clothing budget at Gflock, and place orders through our global online store, which is brought to them through the efforts of the creative workforce in Sri Lanka.”

“We know that a fashion company is a business that can earn a lot of revenue. If we take Zara, another brand with a fast fashion business model like ours, their annual revenue is between $ 20-25 billion. H&M also has similar revenue. The Shein brand founded 14 years ago in Nanjing, China, now ships to over 220 countries. With highly competitive prices and their online-only B2C model, Shein’s annual revenue is now at a staggering USD 15 billion. With the arrival of the pandemic, their annual revenue increased exponentially within the course of three years and the $3.5 billion revenue in 2019 grew to a massive $15.7 billion by 2021.”

“Taking inspiration from this and with the help of Sri Lankan expats, within 5-7 years it should be possible for us to reach an annual income of USD 5 billion. The Gflock business model is established in a way that can be scaled up as needed. My team and I have the specialized knowledge, experience and integrity required for that. So I request our Sri Lankans living abroad to think about their home country that is on the verge of collapse when spending their monthly clothing budget and buy from GFlock, a brand founded and run by the creative younger generation in their home country. Apart from that, I appeal to them to be a brand ambassador for this business by promoting the goal of saving our country with at least five more expats and get them to buy clothes from us. If that can be achieved, we will be able to get rid of the oil and gas queues, the shortage of medicines, and the shortage of food and bring the country back to normalcy sooner than we think.”

“1/3 of the profit from our business is spent on providing a monthly essential goods package worth Rs. 8000 to our indirect employees who function as garment workers. Every week we practice gratitude by publishing photos of such acts on our Facebook page and thanking all our customers who contributed toward these worthy causes. Also, we initiated the project of giving away a free plant with every purchase on World Environment Day -2018. Within the course of four years, since its inception, we have managed to create over 30,000 such meaningful bonds that link our brand and customers together with Mother Nature.”

“When the customers realize their purchase contributes to a greater good that goes beyond just a piece of clothing, it gives them a high sense of self-satisfaction, and the next time they make a purchase they do it intending to support a greater good. As owner of GFlock, I am prepared to offer 51% of the business’s shares to the Sri Lankan public in 2025. By implementing this model combined with the expected income, we shall be able to create a strong public movement that can help achieve inclusive prosperity for Sri Lankans.”

Willaddarage said GFlock releases 40-50 new designs every week, categorized under casual wear, work wear, evening wear, menswear, linen and denim for local and international customers through their three retail stores in Sri Lanka and GFlock.com online store, where they ship their products globally.

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

22 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.