MAS holdings Ltd was founded by three brothers, Mahesh, Sharad and Ajay Amalean, in 1987 which ranked 14th among the top 20 Asian Progressive Leaders by World Business Magazine [1]. It is one of the largest non-listed companies on Colombo Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization in the large apparel industry of Sri Lanka [2]. MAS holdings currently runs 28 factories and design studios in 10 countries with over 41,000 employers. It is the largest suppler to Victoria’s Secret, also have trade relationship with some global brand like Adidas, Gap, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Speedo and Reebok. MAS is also launching its own brand in India.
The welfare plays an important part of the management. During the beginning of the MAS business, the Amalean brothers rejected every element of the sweatshop model. [3] They realized workers would reach a higher productivity within a comfortable and air-conditioned working environment. To batter convenience the workers, MAS built its plants in the rural villages. MAS paid great attention to the care for female workers, for example, in case some pregnant women need social care and attention, MAS got pink hairnets for them. Those welfares would avoid employers turnover that directly benefit to the stability of the productivity. The other key factor of MAS’s success is great its ability to share the partnership with industry leaders such as The Limited Inc, Triumph International, Speedo International, Stretchline UK, Noyon Dentelles, Prym Intimates Group, DogiEFA and Textprint SA to consolidate a regional supply base, [4] which MAS gained more experience. At that time, the Sri Lankan economy was being liberalized, which was a great opportunity to set up a business. The opportunity to launching their own brand of clothing in India will increase the local fashion market, and help MAS to learn and practice, in order to target other markets.
The problems came with the success, “After the series of politically-motivated...