Ideal acquires Takas for an undisclosed price

Ideal Industries, a member of the fast-expanding Ideal Motors Group, has acquired Takas.lk, an established e-commerce major for a price that was not disclosed, a company news release revealed.

The group who’s main business is automobiles and after sales is also in to finance and leasing, tyres, auto batteries, generators, e-commerce and motor spares.

The group, headed by Nalin Welgama, well established in the automotive sector, broke new ground with its acquisition of Takas which it hopes to take to the forefront of the local e-commerce business.

“The Ideal Group has and always been and will be driven by innovation. Hence our foray into the digital space with Takas.lk is both timely and appropriate,” said Welgama. “We promise to strengthen Takas.lk, making it the most valuable e commerce company in Sri Lanka. The collaborative synergies of the Ideal Group of Companies islandwide touch points will further enable us to provide an unmatched service, hitherto not experienced”.

Takas.lk commenced operations in 2012 and since then has grown to be a household name in Sri Lanka. Indeed, Takas was the first company to introduce cash on delivery (COD), and enable the tokenization of credit cards.

Since inception Takas has taken great pride in being a Sri Lankan company that has served Sri Lankans both here and abroad, adding value and giving satisfaction. Furthermore, the technology with which Takas operates on has been built completely in-house, and to date has enabled e-commerce businesses in Sri Lanka as well as overseas markets .

Speaking at the launch which was limited to a few stakeholders due to the Covid situation, Founder and Executive Chairman, Ideal Group of Companies, Nalin Welgama said “e commerce is the way of the future and is the new normal. e-commerce is here to stay, and even when the Covid situation eases, our life styles and methods of business have been irrevocably transformed. We will focus on expanding market share as more companies move their businesses online.

“What will be key from here onwards will be sustainability of demand from newly acquired merchants. The Covid 19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of online shopping and with it the gross merchandise volumes. Therefore we must capitalize on the prevailing strong e-commerce trends and provide many businesses a life line during these challenging macro economic conditions.”

Sri Lanka’s annual domestic e-commerce sales value including services is an estimated US$40-60 million. This is expected to grow to $400 million by 2022-23.

With only 0.3% of Sri Lanka’s total annual retail sales ( $13 billion) done via e-commerce, a huge opportunity is present, Ideal believes.