Meet 32 year-old British Tamil entrepreneur Koby Yogaretnam, the man behind the highly anticipated and talked about Pothys Saree sale event taking place in Toronto over the Victoria Day long weekend.
Koby, the eldest of three sons born to Jaffna Tamil parents, who migrated to London from Sri Lanka in the early 1980’s, is currently involved in several start ups and accomplished business projects in the U.K, Europe, Canada , India and Sri Lanka and is full of ideas for the future. His latest venture has teamed him up with a household name from South India, the famous Saree designers Pothys. For the first time in the company’s 90 year history, Pothys will be hosting a TRULY UNIQUE event in North America.
This is the second time Koby has taken Pothys outside of India. The first time was in October 2014, where he organized the hugely successful sale in London with over 1,500 Sarees sold during a similar two day event.
In his twenties Koby moved around the corporate world. His first step was working at the consultancy firm Accenture where after training at the renowned St. Charles School in Chicago, he worked on projects for Merrill lynch, Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley. At the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers crash in 2008, Koby worked on the administration project alongside PwC.
After a life changing trip in 2012 to Sri Lanka, Koby wanted a change from the city lifestyle and began his journey as an entrepreneur. His drive was to build a legacy which would not only help himself but other budding entrepreneurs, especially from the Tamil community.
Koby provides business consulting services to Tamil businesses in the U.K, Europe and Canada and is very passionate about increasing the profile of the Sri Lankan Tamil Community. He explains that his grandmother was his biggest influence behind his drive to help fellow Tamilians work together and unlock their potential.
“My ambition is to work hard, with honesty and integrity whilst giving a hand to my community to do their best. The competition in our community is famous but my ideology is if we help each other, the more of our people will be able to share the rewards and we can all set an example for future generations.”
Koby explained why he approached Pothys: “Every year, couples-to-be and their families will travel to Pothys in Chennai to shop for all their Fashion essentials including sarees. What if we could offer that same quality of service outside of India? This led me to contact Pothys, who wanted to see a business proposal and after reading through my proposal, they agreed to the idea of a Saree Mela and sale in London and Toronto."
“A round trip to Chennai from Toronto can cost in excess of $2,500 and that’s without considering hotel costs and costs for friends/family that travel with you to India. Why not bring the best fashion that Pothys have to offer to the customer instead of them having to travel to India?”
He also added "The two day exhibition and sale will feature approximately 4,000 of Pothys prestigious handpicked Silk Sarees, Designer Sarees, Bridal Wedding Sarees, Kanjeeveram Silks, Ready-made blouses, dhotis and Kids Silk Pavadais. There will also be Pothys showroom advisors from Chennai present to complete the Pothys in Toronto experience.”
In speaking to Koby, it's certain that this is just the beginning of many more wonderful ideas he has in store which will make a positive difference on the Tamil diaspora community.
If you are free this Victoria Day long weekend – May 16th and 17th – be sure to check out the event.
Tickets:
Visit http://www.pothystoronto.com/ for more information on the event.
Tickets can be purchased here - http://goo.gl/MPnB14.
Date:
Saturday May 16th & Sunday May 17th (9am - 8pm)
Location:
Pothys Grand Toronto Mela - Two Day Saree Sale
HILTON TORONTO/MARKHAM SUITES CONFERENCE CENTRE & SPA
8500 Warden Avenue, Markham, ON, L6G 1A5
