2 weeks ago
4
Plans are far advanced to add two new outlets to the Hi-Lo supermarket chain by 2026, at a cost of more than $1 billion.
The two new stores are to be located in Morant Bay, St Thomas and Mandeville, Manchester, general manager of Hi-Lo Food Stores Cathrine Kennedy has confirmed.
The number of stores in the chain currently stands at 13, and there are plans to grow the number to 20 outlets in six years.
“As a part of GraceKennedy’s 2030 Vision to be the number one Caribbean brand with Jamaican roots and a global reach, Hi-Lo Food Stores plans to expand our footprint in Jamaica to 20 stores. We have a clear strategy that identifies the white spaces where we believe that Hi-Lo Food Stores will be able to contribute positively to the communities we would like to serve,” Kennedy told the Financial Gleaner.
“We have a very well-developed pipeline of potential new locations that we are considering; with two properties at an advanced stage of planning,” she said.
The St Thomas store, slated for the newly developed Morant Bay Urban Centre, is expected to come online in 2025, subject to the necessary approvals; while construction of the Mandeville store at Bloomfield Park is slated to start in 2025 and be completed in 2026, Kennedy said. The Morant Bay commercial complex in St Thomas was developed by Factories Corporation of Jamaica and is now in the process of selecting occupants for the space, while Bloomfield Park is a development done by PROVEN Properties.
“To bring both stores to fruition, Hi-Lo Food Stores will invest over $1 billion and will employ between 30 and 70 individuals for each store,” Kennedy said.
Hi-Lo Food Stores has been a part of the GraceKennedy group since 1984, and operates as a division of GK Foods and Services Limited.
English (US) ·