American-based retail membership club PriceSmart Incorporated is now ready to push forward with its plan for opening a second store in Jamaica in Portmore, St Catherine.

The plans have been on the drawing board from last year with an initial opening date of September this year, but those plans were pushed back for a later period owing to the pandemic and some other local challenges. However, the retail membership club is now ready to put those plans in motion and move forward with the project.

In September last year, the San Diego-based PriceSmart acquired approximately 218,000 square feet of land in the “Sunshine City”, Portmore, to construct its second club in Jamaica. PriceSmart currently operates a single store at Red Hills Road in Kingston.

The Portmore store, which will be located at Braeton Parkway in Portmore, will be PriceSmart’s 49th across the various Latin America and Caribbean jurisdiction in which it has operations. Commenting on the plans for a second store in Jamaica, chief executive officer (CEO) of PriceSmart Inc, Sherry Bahrambeygui, remarked that, “We also believe there is strong demand for expansion of our business model and warehouse clubs in Jamaica.”

APPLICATION APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL COMPLEX IN MOBAY

In the meantime, PriceSmart has received approvals from the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA) for the construction and operation of a commercial complex and office space in the second city of Montego Bay. The application for development approvals was made by International Built Environment Consultants (IBEC), acting on behalf of PriceSmart Realty Jamaica Limited, a subsidiary of PriceSmart Inc.

IBEC has been hired by the retailer to conduct pre-conception due diligence on the 5,000-square-metre property at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay. It is understood that the local arm of PriceSmart is still weighing whether it will use the property for a third store in Jamaica or for warehouse purposes.

EXPANSION IN GUATEMALA CITY

The PriceSmart Inc CEO reiterated that the company is still planning on having a 48th store in Guatemala City, Guatemala, which is expected to open in the third quarter of next year. In June of last year PriceSmart acquired nearly 150,000 square feet of land in Cayalá (Zone 5 municipality), south-east of Guatemala City, Guatemala, where it plans to build its fifth club in Guatemala.

Bahrambeygui reported that “despite the roller coaster we rode with most of the world in this last year, we are ready to proceed with the construction of two new clubs, one each in Guatemala and Jamaica. We expect to open these clubs in the next fiscal year. The Cayalá Guatemala club, our fifth club in Guatemala, follows the successful opening and solid performance thus far of our fourth club opened in Guatemala last year.”

In a statement the PriceSmart boss emphasised that, “new club openings are likely to initially adversely impact our comparable net merchandise sales. However, as we move forward with new club openings, as in this case, when we believe that in the long run, such expansion provides opportunities for growth by way of incremental membership, growth in net merchandise sales and services, and a better shopping experience for our members.”