Seven months after Courts Guyana announced its intention to construct a 50,000 square foot multi-complex facility at Farm, East Bank Demerara, full approval has not been granted by the authorities.
This was mentioned during Courts Guyana’s 30th anniversary celebrations at its Main Street branch yesterday.
Sub-Regional Managing Director, Unicomer Guyana and the Dutch Caribbean, Vincent Gordon, in his remarks to the gathering reminded that they should not only focus on the company’s achievements and urged that they all do more. He also spoke of the commercial complex that was awaiting approval.
“We are now awaiting final approval to begin construction on our commercial complex on the East Bank [Demerara] that will house a 50,000 square foot megastore. That may be three times the size of this branch [Main Street Branch]. That’s the branch we are putting on the East Bank, and we will start building that as soon as we have approval. We have already broken ground for our logistics park development in Houston [Greater Georgetown], which starts with a new distribution centre, which doubles the current capacity of our current distribution centre and even now we are entering into final discussions to open two new branches in two key towns before March 2024.”
Gordon in his speech hinted that giving the Courts brand approval would not be issue especially when the brand has made a difference in all aspect of life and 30 years of operation is no small milestone.
“Thirty years of doing business is no small feat for any organisation, and through the years Courts has grown and we have expanded our retail footprint to bring you some of the world’s best brands, and arguably Guyana’s best shopping experience, and a peace of mind that came from an extensive rewarding warranty programme while at the same time enriching communities and sustaining the lives and livelihood of our customers and staff.”
He also noted that Courts also has other plans, one of which supports businesses and this will also help increase their footprint in the country.
“The expansion of our footprint is only one aspect of our plans to contribute to the local economy, another is the extension of our service to introduce our B to B [Business to Business] products through our new business brand, Courts Business Solutions. A new unit which reflects our interest in undergirding the success of small, medium, and large-scale businesses. With the launch of CBS, we are now able to provide businesses with fixtures and equipment, the sourcing, and significantly the financial support to business, to build the capacity that they need in order to thrive and to scale up.”
Courts is a furniture and electronics retailing brand with stores in the Caribbean, the United States, and Asia. It was founded in 1850 in the United Kingdom.
In 1993, Courts Guyana opened its doors to the Guyanese public and as of 2023, some 25 others have opened countrywide.
With this type of investment, Courts Guyana’s investors felt that with Guyana’s growing economy, the company ought to expand and back in February, the parent company – Unicomer announced a $25 billion (US$120 million)) commercial investment on the East Bank of Demerara which will see the construction of a mega shopping complex and hotel along with a logistics yard to support small companies.
Unicomer’s objective is to construct the mega shopping complex at River View in the vicinity of Farm, and the logistics yard at Houston along the new Mandela-Eccles bypass highway.
The mega shopping complex once constructed at a cost of $10 billion will house a hotel, eateries, gym, international-branded shopping centres, international food chains, and all Unicomer associated brands such as Courts Mega Store, RadioShack, Courts Optical, and Ashley’s Furniture Home Store. The complex will also house up to thirty retail spaces with some 400 parking spaces and once completed by 2025 will provide close to 200 permanent jobs, according to the company’s plan.
As it relates to the logistics park, the company said that it would locate its 60,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, and as such, are looking to construct a 250,000 square foot facility that will support Courts’ expansion. This facility which is slated to be built at Houston, will be constructed on 50 to 60 acres of land and will be equipped to handle not just products for Courts but other businesses as well. It will be equipped with transportation, heavy lifting equipment, a container yard, and storage facilities, among other amenities.