Why Singer did not performed up to expectations in the recent years?

Consumer consumption pattern of a country generally tends to follow the trend of its GDP. Although Sri Lanka used to witness this phenomena before 2009,with the ending of 30 year long war, the GDP growth pace accelerated to a CAGR of 7% since 2009. With the establishment of peace, both investor and consumer confidence had outperformed economic growth, which is reflected in the consumer consumption of 12.9% in 2011. This uneven pace of growth was not compatible, as the government economic policy changed from consumer spending driven economy to investment and export driven economy. In the next 2 years Consumer consumption surged below 6%. Reflecting this, the revenues of SINS was held constant in 2012 and in 13 while the share price plummeted.

We expect this dipped level of consumer expenditure to recover in the coming years. Rising consumer confidence, increasing per capita disposable income, consumer oriented government policy changes will drive the economy, giving the opportunity to consumer durable companies like Singer to achieve its potential.

So how does the 4 fold strategy of Singer strengthen its core?

SINS is concerned about the accessibility to the customer, “the retail network”. The outlet renovating cycle,

year on year brand new outlets, and acquisition of competitor’s retail chains has helped Singer to this end. The far reaching 406 retail outlets, island wide after sales service points and growing online platform are the results of this strategy.

In their strategy to improve the financial services, Singer has become “the player” in hire purchase schemes, surpassing its peers in miles. Further, the bill payment scheme continues to improve the total number of walking customers and brand visibility.

In order to strengthen the in house capabilities, Singer continues to invest in its plants and brands. Another aspect of this investment is that Singer being able to provide the best after sales service in the industry.

The most visible strategy of Singer is in its widening product range. The company started out as a sewing company a century ago, but today sewing only provides 9% of its total revenue. Singer boasts of the largest brand portfolio in the industry. The expansion into furniture and digital media has been driving the growth

in the recent years.