Lakbima Newspapers (Private) Limited
Company Profile
Sumathi Group's strategic move to enter the newspaper industry began with Sumathi Publishers which was established in 1984. Sumathi Publishers marketed three tabloids, "Sarasi" for those interested in Films, "Sathsara" for those interested in Music and "Rajina" a women's tabloid. Lakbima
Identifying an opportunity for a realistic and impartial
national newspaper, resulted in the concept and launch of "Lakbima" Sunday Sinhala newspaper. This launch was initiated with the incorporation of Sumathi Newspapers (Private) Limited in 1994. "Lakbima" an unbiased new newspaper was also seen as an innovation as we pioneered the introduction of separate sections for different segments such as women, children etc. Thus the seeds of becoming a very popular newspaper were sown. Years later after a successful journey with "Sunday Lakbima", Sumathi Newspapers (Private) Limited; in March 2000 extended its scope to introduce a daily newspaper. This national daily newspaper, under the same brand "Lakbima" was well accepted by the newspaper reading public. Very soon "Lakbima" grew to being the newspaper with the 2nd highest readership in Sri Lanka and maintains its position to date. The qualities that differentiate "Lakbima" and make it unique are its competent people, state of the art technology and the leadership of bringing new ideas and concepts taking "Lakbima" to an exalted position of being an opinion maker. The different tabloids that come with the "Lakbima" newspaper and in particular the very popular "Samudura" the Educational tabloid are much sought after attributes of the brand. Additionally the weekly tabloid Rajina is favourite among the women. LAKBIMAnEWS
The problem with all English newspapers in the market is their sameness. The other aspect that came out of research was the questionability of quality and reliability. Hence we identified an opportunity to differentiate – The Difference. This was the concept that resulted in the launch of "LAKBIMAnEWS" the Sunday English broadsheet of Sumathi Newspapers (Private) Limited which was launched on the 17th of June 2007, "LAKBIMAnEWS" – The Difference. Proven track record of publishing a quality and reliable newspaper, which has earned enormous goodwill among the Sri Lankan Sinhala readership is a testimonial for the ability of Sumathi Newspapers (Private) Limited to embark on this venture. The fact that we are not going to mimic the other newspapers in the market is also the strength of the new brand. Additionally it has a Sri-Lankan identity that the name itself connotes. Leadership of senior management, competent people, and modern technology are the other strengths that helped to embark on a task of this magnitude. "LAKBIMAnEWS" is well on the road of success. Sumathi Newspapers changed the company name to Lakbima Newspapers (Pvt) Ltd; in April 2009 cause by that time "Lakbima" was well established it's identitiy among all Sri-Lankans
