FROM BEHIND SHOP COUNTER...
THE SUPER PLUS FOOD STORES STORY
Vincent and Gloria Chen
have always been in the grocery business.
Vincent spent his childhood
in the district of Snow Hill, Portland where his father operated a grocery shop.
Gloria was born in Western Jamaica but grew up on Windward Road, Kingston where
her adoptive mother operated a grocery. During the early 1950s they met while both working at Sang Hing Supermarket in Port Antonio, and later married.
They started their first
business, Chen's, in Port Antonio in 1964. Gloria sold cloth, clothing and household
goods at the store while Vincent worked as a Singer sewing machine salesman.
They sold that business in 1967 when Vincent was promoted to regional manager
by Singer, and the growing family moved first to St. Ann's Bay, then to Mandeville
in 1968.
In Mandeville, they went
into business again when they opened the Humpty Dumpty toy and baby store at
the new Manchester Shopping Centre in 1968. The following year, Vincent left
Singer and went into his business full-time. Business was good but the new import
restrictions affected the toy imports and they sold the store and bought Ken
Chin's Supermarket, Christiana in 1973. They operated that supermarket until
1978 when they sold it and retired for a year while they considered emigrating.
They decided to stay in Jamaica and bought the L & M Supermarket at Park
Crescent in Mandeville in 1979.
In 1981 their son Wayne
and his then-wife, Antoinette came into the business after they graduated from
the University of the West Indies with degrees in Law and Economics respectively.
They bought their own businesses, A & P Superfair, Christiana in 1982 and
Landem Discount Supermarket, Manchester Road, Mandeville in 1985.
In 1989, sons Charles and
Richard, both computer programmers, returned from North America and bought J
& D Supermarket, Main Street, May Pen. In 1992, Charles went off on his
own and bought Daley's Supermarket, Main Street, Santa Cruz. Super Plus Food
Stores was created on November 1, 1992 from the merger of the five supermarkets.
The thinking at the time
was that the businesses were all doing very well individually but each its was
doing its own advertising, marketing, and purchasing. By combining several functions
to take advantage of economies of scale, they created the possibility of building
a strong brand name. This made the consolidation inevitable.
The other important factor
was the government's liberalisation of the retail trade. For many years, basic
commodities such as flour, rice, cooking oil, and saltfish had been sold on
quota at controlled prices. The freeing up of controls allowed Super Plus to
grow at its own pace and set prices more aggressively.
This led to the rapid growth
of the chain and soon branches were added at Midway Mall, Mandeville, Barnett
Street, Montego Bay, and Portmore Pines. During that period the original directors
were joined by siblings Jody, and his wife Debe, Robert, Lisa, Jeremy, and Colin,
a Captain with Air Jamaica.
Today the group is Jamaica's
largest retailer, measured by gross revenues, with 24 stores and 1,500 employees.
The group ranked first among all Jamaican retailers in customer transactions
with an average of 180,000 weekly. This number continues to grow. The group
has outlets in the eight major urban centres in Jamaica with plans to open at
least five new stores in 2003.
Super Plus tailors its products
and services to suit each locale; thus in high-income locations a wider range
of upscale products are offered while lower income areas have more budget and
basic products. The constants for all the stores are very competitive prices,
a clean and attractive shopping environment, and a high standard of customer
service.
The stores carry a wide
range of groceries, personal care and household items. Most branches offer Western
Union money transfers and Bill Express for payment of utility bills. Several
also have cambios and ATMs. The group has its own distribution centre, a fleet
of trucks, and a line of "Super Plus" branded products.
The Chen family remains
the owners of the group. Vincent and Gloria Chen who started out in retailing
four decades ago are now retired but eight of their nine children carry on the
family tradition.
Wayne Chen, the Chief Executive
Officer, was in 1998 named by the Jamaican Institute of Management as one of
the Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs of Jamaica and in 1999 the Jamaica Observer
newspaper named him the Jamaican Business Leader of the Year.
The only sibling not involved
in the business has done well on his own.
Michael Lee-Chin, is the
owner, chairman, and president of AIC, Canada's largest privately owned mutual
fund company. In 1999 he was voted the Ernst and Young Canadian Entrepreneur
of the Year for financial services.
His company recently bought
the Government's majority holding in the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.
All the children credit
the practical, no-nonsense approach of their mother, Gloria, the patient effort
and persistence of their father, Vincent, and the life-long experience of working
in business as the keys to their success in the retail trade. They often joke
that they all earned their B.Sc. degrees at an early age-B.Sc. standing for
"Behind Shop Counter".
The group is committed to
contributing to the communities in which it operates, and has won many citations
and awards for its sponsorship of numerous community projects, particularly
in the field of education.
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