THE Khemlani Group of companies has undertaken a deeper expansion into the housewares and hardware market with the introduction of a tile line as well as sanitary ware line, English Standard.

The company is currently increasing the marketing of tiles, targeting the home improvement and construction sectors.

Focused on both the residential and resort market, Khemlani Mart has also embarked on expansion of its Constant Spring Road, Kingston, location to facilitate demand from construction and home improvement.

Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Khemlani said in an exclusive interview with this publication that: “I have realised that the ‘R&R’ of the pandemic is not rest and relaxation but renovation and redecoration. With many Jamaicans having to work from home and spending unprecedented times at home, home projects that would have been previously ignored or placed on the back burner have now been prioritised. It was in the face of this recovery and change in homeowner behaviour that Khemlani Mart began a $250-million build out and expansion of one of its largest locations on Constant Spring into a hub for contractors and developers and a one-stop shop for homeowners.”

Started in 1954, the Khemlani Group has locations in the Manor Centre, Mall Plaza, Portmore, Montego Bay, Liguanea Plaza and downtown Kingston.

The company is currently aiming to supply demand arising from the three-year-old construction boom.

“New housing and commercial developments are breaking ground every week; the skyline is checkered with cranes. Further, in early 2020, the Government committed to over 10,000 housing solutions to dismantle the prevalent informal settling, or ‘squatting’ as we know it.

“This was a more important decision than most people realise. A formal address is disproportionately more valuable than the bricks that make it up. It provides its occupants with access to proper utility services, banking services, social services and more,” Steve Khemlani said while adding that he expects housing disruption of historic proportions.

“Historically, hard-working citizens have been priced out of the housing market. However, with the current plans and projections by the Administration, I expect a steady disruption to the market for the better.

“The Government-owned National Housing Trust, which is the largest player in the mortgage market, has already reduced rates earlier this year and has been implementing incentives that have made home ownership more accessible to new buyers as well as providing relief for those who acquired homes pre-pandemic,” the Khemlani Group CEO said.

The Constant Spring Khemlani Mart should have been completed in early 2021 but the pandemic, the closure of many factories worldwide and logistical challenges led to a revision of this timeline.

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise entirely, but on the retail side our expansion will include products from vanities to doors to roofing and more. On the construction side we will be expanding into resort development.

“When we entered the tile and sanitary ware market in 2019 we were pleasantly surprised by the reaction. We took risks in choosing bold as well as classic designs and the response has been tremendous.

“The great thing about operating in the Jamaican market is that there is much more flexibility in consumer taste. Our customers have the ‘work hard, live good’ mentality and do not constrain themselves to the norm of what their houses should look like. We had factored that into our planning, including not only the standard whites and greys but also sapphire porcelain tiles and gold-accented basins. And while there is currently a shortage of product and material worldwide, because of careful planning we are able to provide contractors with consistent pricing and supply,” he said.

He added that in terms of the way forward, “the company will continue to expand into more product lines but will “stick to our core strategy, which is to provide the Jamaican people with a wide variety of quality products at competitive prices”.