Trinidadian conglomerate Massy yesterday opened its Massy Stores Supermarket at Providence, East Bank Demerara, where Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin welcomed the investment, while making an appeal to the local private sector to develop value-added products for export.
Speaking at the opening of the 16,000 square foot supermarket, said to be the largest in Guyana, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Massy Group Gervase Warner said that his company’s US$4M investment was not only illustrative of the confidence it has in the Guyana market but that it will also offset the impact of the economic downturn in Trinidad and Tobago on the company.
“With the downturn that has happened in Trinidad, we have found that we are getting more profit from outside of Trinidad. So investments in places like Guyana, Colombia, [and] St Lucia serves as a balancing to the negative growth that we have been experiencing in Trinidad,” Warner posited.
He said that Massy’s expansion was also part of the company’s overall diversification plan. The regional supermarket chain currently operates 45 retail locations in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Warner noted that another supermarket will be built at the Movie Towne Mall, currently under construction at Liliendaal on the East Coast of Demerara. He said that while he could not give a definitive figure on how much that supermarket will cost, he believes that it will be double or more than the US$4M.
During his address at the opening, Gaskin said the investment would serve as both an opportunity and challenge for local farmers, who will have to produce foods of high standards and quality in order to supply the supermarket.
“I am sure our Guyanese farmers will be able to rise to the occasion and provide a reliable supply of high quality produce,” he said.
Gaskin’s position was echoed by Massy’s Country Manager Deo Persaud, who said the company has the opportunity to work with local suppliers and local producers so that customers can find a wide variety of high quality, local items in one location.
He explained that the location of Massy’s first supermarket was part of a strategic plan to tap into the growing economic activity on the East Bank of Demerara corridor and position the company for future investments here. “As you are aware, it has been one of the most active and vibrant areas in Guyana for both housing and business activities and also its strategic importance. It plays into the transport sector in Guyana being it is on the way to the airport and the gateway to the mining community and the hinterland,” he said.
Gaskin said that he was happy to see foreign-owned companies expanding their investments in Guyana as it demonstrates to the world that Guyana is ready to do business. He assured the group that the confidence that it shows in Guyana was not taken lightly by his government.
At the same time, he warned of the situations companies like Massy will face against local competitors. “Such as with tax cheats who can flourish even with tight margins because they can compensate themselves by cheating the system and cheating their workers and cheating the legitimate businesses community. This is not something our government wishes to perpetuate. We cannot build a nation without fair taxation and fair competition,” he said.
National priority
He also said that while Guyana welcomes foreign investment, the country has to work out mechanisms to fully exploit its own resources.
“There is a whole lot going on in the Stabroek Block and I am not talking about the market or car park. I am talking about 120 miles offshore where the Liza 1 and the Liza 2 well are being explored, where the report so far indicates significant resources. We simply cannot satisfy ourselves with royalties and license fees and other fees collected from the extraction and exportation of our primary products. That will not fully exploit these resources. We need to add value to these raw materials,” he said.
“Developing industries to do this must be a national priority. Someone out there is buying our gold and lumber… and turning them into consumer goods we need to start doing the same thing here in Guyana. We need to start hearing serious conversations of how we are going to do this. I am throwing this out to our private sector. I know there are constraints and there are barriers but let us identify them and start removing them and using value-added exports to place our economy on more sound footing,” he added.
The supermarket, said to be the largest in the country, is located in the Amazonia Mall just behind the Providence National Stadium. It includes features such as access to ATMs, a pharmacy, MoneyGram and SurePay services, and offers fresh produce, chilled and frozen meat, prepared foods and a wide variety of local and foreign food and general merchandise items.
According to a Massy press release, “The store’s international design, which incorporates wide aisles to comfortably accommodate shoppers and automated in store price checkers, is also complemented by extensive parking facilities to enhance the overall shopping experience.”
It will be opened from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Thursday and from 8am to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays, the store will open its doors at 9am and close them at 3pm.
