“The first three months of the initial lockdown, I did deliveries myself”, he shared, recounting the commencement of Luxe.
Thus, Ishara, with his tactical planning, perseverance, intelligence, and intuitive graft, became the protagonist of Luxe Colombo’s success. It may not have been the initial plan, but it was an essential plan carried out effectively and swiftly during a challenging period. Ishara changed his plans from moving overseas, to remaining in the country and doing everything he could to keep the family enterprise thriving after seeing his family in misery. Considering that all of the hotels were closed and potential customers were stuck at home due to the pandemic, the Weeraratna family was facing a possible loss of nearly $15 million unless prompt and timely action was taken. Nevertheless, while he was still in the country, the pandemic’s impact on the family business ultimately drove him to abandon the idea. He expresses the vision was to return to Europe and establish himself. According to Ishara, travelling around Europe was an eye-opener for the family regarding the scarcity of authentic European food in Sri Lanka, which fueled the original idea behind the venture. It was not in his original plan to play a significant role in it any time soon.
While being employed overseas as a Software Engineer, working for a company and running his own, he shared that he was mildly involved with the family business of importing authentic European food and distributing it among the local restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets. Ishara owes his primary education to Mahanama College Colombo and comes from a loving family of four.
Unlike many businesses that watched the pandemic take its course, Luxe was indeed a solid response to the crisis. While the rest of the world gave up on their long-awaited dreams in the face of the pandemic, Ishara Weeraratna, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LUXE Colombo, was among the few that became a dynamic opponent against the despairing situation.