kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
While many companies held back investments due to the economic uncertainties the COVID-19 pandemic brought, the Anand Low Price Group of Companies (ALPG) is finding success in expanding its supermarket chain to small communities.
ALPG on Thursday opened its tenth supermarket since the pandemic hit in 2020, establishing Anand Low Price Supermarket and Liquor Store at 150 Cipero Road, Victoria Village in San Fernando.
Chairman Dr Rolph Balgobin said while many companies felt contented with holding back on spending to avoid risks, ALPG adopted a different strategy by seizing opportunities through service to communities and not just operating based on profit and loss.
“We celebrate the opening of another ambitious undertaking by the Anand Low Price Group. There are very few, if any, companies that are expanding in Trinidad right now. People are afraid, oftentimes, to invest. There is a lot of economic uncertainty and people are gambling on waiting,” Balgobin said.
With many young people unemployed, Balgobin said the supermarket provides an income for residents and an opportunity for them to develop skills. He said while no one else in the sector was expanding, the group was confident based on founder Anand Ramnarine Singh’s 42 years of experience in retail.
While the Victoria Village branch is not as extensive as those in Fyzabad, Debe, La Romaine and South Oropouche, Balgobin emphasised it was not a mini mart, as it has all the items sold at other branches.
Director Nicholas Ramnarine Singh said ALPG began introducing innovative mini stores since the pandemic began, starting with its South Park branch and extending to South Oropouche, Fyzabad and Rousillac over the past two and a half years.
While the group has invested in its guest houses and operates hardware, restaurants, fitness centres and nightclubs, Nicholas said it focused on its supermarket chain as an essential business during the pandemic. With rising food prices affecting communities, he said it was an opportunity to bring affordable shopping to people by cutting back on margins.
Fellow director Chelsea Ramnarine Singh said management noticed a demand for household essentials over luxury goods, possibly due to T&T’s current economic condition. She said global food shortages, which caused a spike in food prices, led to many households having less disposable and effective income than before.
“In order to serve these customers, we have elected to focus on household necessities at these locations, which have been well-received thus far,” she said.
The Victoria Village branch boasts of being in an ideal location along Cipero Road, the main thoroughfare for motorists and commuters getting to and from San Fernando, connecting to towns like Penal, Debe, Princes Town and Barrackpore. It will also cater to the surrounding communities of Pleasantville and Ste Madeleine and the many nearby businesses.