Massy Stores opens in Brentwood, Chaguanas

Despite the fallout from the covid19 pandemic the expansion of Massy Stores outlets locally and regionally has not been affected.

On Monday it opened its newest outlet at Brentwood, Chaguanas, making it the third store in central Trinidad.

Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon said the Massy Stores supermarket chain was the largest in the country, cementing its place in Trinidad and Tobago’s history and economy.

She said, in the face of recent global events the Massy Group injected over TT $100 million into the economy, hired about 500 people during its construction, and hired 100 people at the Brentwood store location.

“This demonstrates its commitment and responsibility to the continued development and growth of our country. Further, this investment signals to other local and foreign investors that there is confidence to invest in TT.

“The investment by Massy in the central area is strategic, as the Chaguanas borough has long established itself as an ideal location for business and living, with its rich, diverse culture, opportunity for commercial activity, and its central location.”

She said investor confidence in TT was reflected in the recent opening of iQor, a business process outsourcing company which has hired about 800 people at its Chaguanas location and nearly 2,000 nationwide.

Central Trinidad, Gopee-Scoon said, continued to expand to include several business hubs and parks such as the Chase Village industrial park, Biljah industrial park, Frederick Settlement and Factory Road industrial park, which has cumulatively 71 businesses and hiring hundreds of people.

Massy's executive chairman David Affonso said the group chose to embrace the new normal, and its franchise expansion was planned before the onset of the pandemic. It now has 23 stores in TT and 61 stores in the Caribbean.

He said it deliberately chose to continue its expansion, while dealing with chronic supply-chain issues, equipment shortages and increasing prices.

“During the past two years, in the midst of all the confusion, Massy Stores embarked on its most rapid expansion drive in its history, opening 13 stores across the region in just 18 months.

“There were those who questioned our going ahead with our agenda and suggested postponing or suspending it for a while — ‘until things settled down,’ but we opted not to. We chose to press on,” Affonso said.

Among the stores opened over the last months include Massy in Arima, Freeport, Diskomart in San Juan, five were opened in St Lucia, three in Guyana and one each in Barbados and St Vincent.

Affonso said, “This (is) our fifth and largest Massy Store to be opened in Trinidad during the pandemic. Massy Stores Brentwood has been almost 11 years in the making from conception to land acquisition, to design, to build, to today its opening.”

Massy Stores Trinidad CEO Roxane de Freitas said the location has acquired all environmental, social and governance clearance to operate.

“Governance is a key aspect for us, and doing business the right way. So we opened this store after ensuring that all 14-plus licenses and approvals have been secured.

Working with OSH (occupational, safety and health), Town and Country, the borough council, police, Customs and Excise, courts, health, water, and electrical inspectorates and the pharmacy board to be able to open our doors today to operate.” she said.

However, De Freitas said the pharmacy remains closed pending the last approval for the license to operate, and called on Gopee-Scoon to work with the sector to simplify the ease of doing business to ensure that all standards were met within the industry.