Braun, a world leader in electronic personal care and household appliances, has entered the Sri Lankan market with Hayleys Consumer Products Ltd., (HCPL) in a formidable partnership of global and local giants.

The appointment of Hayleys Consumer as sole distributor for Braun in Sri Lanka will initially see the launch of products such as female hair epilators, hand blenders, hair dryers, food processors, electric toothbrushes and foil shavers, backed by Braun’s eight decade global reputation for quality, innovation and design excellence, the company said.

Braun products purchased anywhere in the world would be identical in quality and technology standards — would also carry the Hayleys guarantee and professional after sales service, Hayleys Consumer Director Rizvi Zaheed told a launch ceremony in Colombo last week.

Describing the launch of Braun products in Sri Lanka as an exciting new opportunity for Hayleys Consumer and its dealer network, Zaheed said: "Our philosophy is to sell value to customers. We don’t want to compete only on price, as we also sell image. As one of the world’s most respected brands, Braun is a perfect match for this philosophy."

Braun’s Regional Manager Shalini Rao said the brand image of Braun was built on the core values design, innovation and quality, which has enabled them to deliver ‘functional simplicity and elegance while being truly state-of-the-art’. The Braun range comprises about 200 products in 11 categories, and 75% of sales revenue is generated from products developed over the past two years, she said. ‘As a result, consumers are assured that they will always receive the benefits of the latest technology available’.

Founded in 1921, Braun became the first acquisition by the Gillette Company in 1967. Gillette is a US $ 14 Billion (about Rs 1350 Billion) company and the world leader in male grooming. Gillette is also the world leader in alkaline batteries (Duracell) and in manual (Oral B) and power toothbrushes.

Headquartered in Kronberg, Germany Braun manufactures about 250,000 units a day at 10 production sites in seven countries. About 3.5% of sales turnover is invested in research and development. Braun is regularly cited as an example of how design is used to deliver product quality at Harvard University, and some 40 Braun products are on display at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

HCPL distributes and markets an extensive range of products from major international and local brands such as Philips, Fujifilm, Daewoo, Usha Shriram, Bayer, Blue Cross and Daytron.