One of Sri Lanka’s leading fashion, designer apparel retail establishment ODEL PLC has seen a significant change in its board of directors following its earlier pioneer Otara Gunawardene and her brothers Ruchi and Ajit Gunawardene selling their entire shares in the establishment to the Softlogic Group recently.

Accordingly, with effect from today (22 September) ODEL Non-Executive Director/Chairman Ruchi Hurbert Gunawardene has resigned and Asoka Kariyawasam Pathirage, who is also the Chairman of Softlogic Group takes over as Executive Director/Chairman of ODEL PLC.

Furthermore, Dr. Sivakumar Selliah and Haresh Kumar Kaimal have been appointed Non-Executive Directors of ODEL with effect from 22 September.

The Softlogic group which bought the shares of ODEL from the Gunawardene trinity Otara, Ajit and Ruchi for Rs. 2.7 billion now hold 44.5 percent shares of ODEL PLC.

Malaysia’s Parkson Retail Asia Ltd. which had opened its first store at Sungei Wang Plaza in 1987 and has since then opened new stores across Malaysia at approximately two stores per annum over the past years, tied up with ODEL in July 2012 after buying shares and has the controlling stake in the company with its 47.46 percent shares. On the strength of these shares the Malaysian company has appointed three directors to ODEL PLC.