Hundreds more products for SuperPlus brand
Expect own brands to reach 20% of sales
|
Observer Reporter
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
|
SuperPlus Food Stores, already Jamaica's largest supermarket chain, is set to open two more stores in St Catherine by October as part of a broad strategy to have islandwide coverage within the next five years, according to its CEO Wayne Chen.
At the same time, Chen also plans, over the next year or so, to roll out up to 400 additional items under the SuperPlus brand - moving the range to about 700 and, importantly, giving SuperPlus greater control over stocks and the ability to squeeze more profit in a business notorious for its thin margins.
At present own-brand products account for between four and five per cent of the over $10 billion in sales at the chain's 35 stores.
"We are looking at building that to double-digit," Chen told the Business Observer. "We would like to see it go over 20 per cent."
If that growth materialises, within the next few years SuperPlus branded products could account for upwards of $2 billion of the company's sales, strengthening the family-owned chain's already substantial clout in the retail market.
"We are becoming more unified in every category," Chen said. "We had bottled juices and tinned vegetables. Now, we will have sauces, condiments, spices and cleaning agents that will fill out the brand's range."
While many of the products will be sourced overseas, Chen stressed that the brand expansion will also provide opportunities for Jamaican manufacturers.
 |
| CHEN. wants to push earnings from SuperPlus brand to over 20 per cent sales |
"Some of these products will be obtained locally from manufacturers producing for the SuperPlus brand," said Chen. "So there are business opportunities."
Unlike most large Jamaican enterprises which start in Kingston and expand to other parts of Jamaica, SuperPlus began as a relatively small family supermarket in Clarendon. Under Chen, the Jamaica Observer Business Leader for 1998, the company has expanded aggressively over the past decade.
But it as yet has no stores in the parishes of St Mary, Portland and St Thomas. "After Kingston, we are weak in the east," Chen said.
That is a deficiency which Chen said the company plans to remedy in the short to medium term.
"Our plan is to have islandwide coverage over the next five years," he said.
The more immediate concentration is on the planned opening of the two St Catherine stores, at Angels Estate in August and at March Pen Road by October.
"These are large stores, over 25,000 square feet," Chen said.
While SuperPLus, which employs 2,200 people, does expect explosive growth in the retail market, Chen said that demand for service and quality was moving at the fast pace.
"We are looking for consistent and steady growth and for that we will be giving a higher standard of service and value for money," he said.
| 
