Bernard’s celebrates 60 years of tradition, innovation and diversification

• Diversified into tea, real estate and overseas international trade
  
• A core management team at the helm
  
• Penetration into Hambantota, Kolonna, Embilipitiya and Sooriyakanda
  
• Overseas presence in Los Angeles and Hong Kong
  

The Bernard’s Group, which began operations in 1948 as a pioneering apparel manufacturing company and probably among the oldest, celebrates the milestone of sixty years in April 2008. With the country just emerging from her newly found independence, Deshabandu Bernard A Botejue’s contribution to ingrain that independence into furthering industrialisation was held in good stead with the launch of a hosiery manufacturing business. Sixty years later, the legacy of the founder remains firmly entrenched in the ethos of the business, but the core organisation itself has transformed into a diversified group built on innovation, best practices and new thinking to compete effectively in global markets. While apparel continues as a core business, Bernard’s is today in tea, real estate and overseas trade.

“Our first exports were to Eurextil in Europe and Sunbow Textiles in the USA, a feat that saw us win a merit award from the EDB in the 1970s,” recalls Managing Director Janaka Botejue. “But with the open economy signaling wider broader markets, we were granted BOI status as a 100% export oriented factory.” Expanding quickly, Bernard’s established two factories in Kolonna and Hambantota, transformed its group structure by making Bernard Philknit (Ceylon) and Texfabric Exports headed by Ravi Botejue separate entities catering exclusively to the local market, saw a change in chairmanship to Hema Botejue with the demise of the founder, established the core management team and added Sentrino, a fully automated embroidery plant in Embilipitiya.

“All this was designed to ensure that Bernard’s continues the thrust and focus in our business fundamentals,” says Botejue. “While we learnt from our founder, what we did was take those lessons and use them productively and effectively to keep journeying ahead in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.” Today, Bernard’s customer portfolio encompasses GAP, Reebok, Macy’s, Kohls and M&S as well as Academy USA. The Hambantota facility primarily manufacturing children’s wear has Sainsbury’s, Boots and Adams among its customers. The consistent quality and on time delivery, which are the primary trusses in Bernard’s customer service positives, saw the company presented with the Sainsbury Award in 2006 for the manufacture of TU Children’s Wear. In 2004, Bernard’s also took the management of Aigburth Tea Estate, which today sees Aigburth, a branded niche market tea being marketed among tea connoisseurs in the USA and UK. The Group has also added real estate development into its portfolio and ventured overseas, opening its first overseas office Mount Sunshine in Los Angeles in addition to a trading partnership with Grand Trade, Hong Kong.

“Our basis for sustained success is to nurture long term relationships, with our customers and suppliers and our team,” states Botejue. “We have 1,500 currently within our team and given that our business areas are located in Hambantota, Embilipitiya, Kolonna and Sooriyakanda, our primary aim is to ensure that our team members are economically and socially empowered. This requires a buy-in to our vision, culture, objectives and targets and we are very proud that our team has indeed been an elemental cog in the wheel in our successful journey of sixty years. The global apparel industry shows signs of continuing competitiveness, which to us poses opportunities that are identified and worked upon by our core management team. We have, over those six decades transited from being a family company to one that imbues independent thought processes and ideas into a team culture.”

Working on the mission statement, ‘To become the preferred supplier and offer total turnkey solutions to our customers’, the Group’s future plans include expanding its trade network into London, facilitating international marketing space for Sri Lankan exporters, facilitating direct sales of Sri Lankan goods and services and pursuing backward integration.