Q: Could you provide an outline of the history of your group?
A: Hemas started in 1948 as a wholesale and retail chemist, and druggist, in Dam Street – the heart of the wholesale trading centre in Colombo. By 1951, it had expanded to include Science House, which was dealing in laboratory supplies and equipment.

To house the growing business, our founder developed the Hemas Building in Bristol Street in the Colombo Fort. This six storey building housed the Hemas Group and became a city landmark.

During the next few decades, the group forayed into various diversifications activities, starting with producing toiletries in 1962 in collaboration with a French multinational. In the 1970s, it moved into the blossoming travel and tourism sector; and over the years, the group has established itself as a leader.

In 1993, we restructured and renamed the original business as Hemas Holdings; and in 2003, it became a public quoted company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

Today, Hemas is a diversified corporate with a focussed interest in consumer brands, healthcare and mobility. It remains committed to ensuring that we continue to enrich the lives of the communities we serve and make healthful living a reality across the nation.

Q: When considering the group’s timeline since its inception, what were the most significant mileposts?
A: In 1977, after the free economy was established, there was a burst of entrepreneurial energy. Around the same time, Hemas aggressively diversified into many areas including travel and tourism.

In 2003, upon listing on the CSE, the group ventured into various sectors. We entered the hospital sector in 2007 by opening the first Hemas Hospital in Wattala. Then in 2013, we acquired Morison; and in 2017, the group acquired Sri Lanka’s largest stationery brand – Atlas. And we opened the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka in Homagama in 2020.

From a social impact point of view, we initiated Piyawara in 2002 with a focus on early childhood care and development; and in 2020, Ayati – the national centre for children with disabilities – was opened.

These initiatives have given us an opportunity to address a national need and long-term commitment to create a positive impact in the communities we serve.

Q: How have you adapted to changing customer needs over the years?
A: Technological advancement, urbanisation and environmental awareness are some of the key consumer behavioural trends. Hemas has always tracked and understood consumer trends. It has geared itself to address their needs.

Our strategies have evolved to ensure that customer needs are met and we have accelerated our sustainability efforts to ensure a reduction of our environmental footprint.

Q: And how does the organisation approach corporate social responsibility or CSR?
A: As a responsible Sri Lankan corporate for over 70 years, we have worked in different communities. We believe that we’re Sri Lankan first and therefore, our initiatives have reached all corners of the country.

Initially, we supported many philanthropy causes. However, for our initiatives to be effective, we needed to focus on our CSR efforts and the Hemas Outreach Foundation was established.

Our key initiatives Ayati and Piyawara strive to give children an opportunity to achieve their unique potential, and support the Hemas’ ‘no child is left behind’ policy, which directs our work towards marginalised children.

Conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, Piyawara focusses on early childhood care and development, and is one of our flagship projects. To date, we have added 60 preschools across the island to the national network.

In 2016, we joined the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya to set up the Ayati Trust Sri Lanka. And together with MAS Holdings, the Roshan Wijerama Foundation and Rotary District 3220 – and with the support of the Sri Lanka Army – we built the first national centre for children with disabilities.

However, corporate social responsibility is only one avenue. We also serve the community by designing products and services to suit their requirements – we continuously look to innovate and design products or services that reach them. As a result, we have introduced a variety of pharmaceuticals, personal care and other consumer products, which are affordable and offer more value for money.

All the group’s initiatives our guided by our purpose: Make Healthful Living Happen. And we ensure they address a national need and are long-term initiatives leading to sustainable growth of communities.

Q: Looking forward, what is the direction the group will be heading towards? In short, what is the next big thing for Hemas?
A: In the medium term, the key objective is to navigate the extremely challenging business climate due to the unprecedented economic crisis that our country is facing at this time. This is causing immense hardship to our customers, employees and all stakeholders.

We hope that the policy makers will be able to resolve these ongoing issues – especially the availability of foreign currency – and put our country on a more sustainable path. In the meantime, we are doubling down our efforts to expand overseas.

Husein Esufally
Chairman
Telephone 4731731
Email info@hemas.com
Website www.hemas.com