Azan to launch new bakery business
Published:Friday | November 19, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Dionne Rose, Business Reporter
Gassan Azan, owner of retail chains MegaMart and Bashco, is expanding into the bakery market with a new operation to be called 'Sweet Things'.
Azan is investing J$45 million to convert a former Bashco store in Kingston, to create the bakery and pastry shop, two years after reorganising his downtown haberdashery operations to reposition for better sales.
"The genesis of this, though, is that we control the two corners of Beckford and Princess streets. There were two Bashco stores, so we were merging the stores and rather than lease out the building, which I could have done very easily, I said 'no, I want to do something'," said Azan, whose businesses straddle haberdashery under Bashco and the grocery market through MegaMart.
"What I thought of is a pilot project to do a bakery, which would be something in keeping with a First-World country. So the idea was to create something that never before existed in Jamaica; and roll them out eventually across main street Jamaica," he said.
In other words, if the first store is a hit, Azan plans to expand the operation - the same modus operandi he has employed for his other businesses.
Not new
The bakery business is not a new area for the businessman. MegaMart already sells food and pastries. But the bakeries and food courts are value-added operations inside the supermarket warehouse chain of three stores in Portmore, Kingston and Montego Bay, notwithstanding their apparent popularity among shoppers.
Azan said Sweet Things, a 2,500-square foot operation, will open within the next two weeks, with baked offerings such as bread, pastries and patties.
The bakery will be a walk-in, fully retail operation, but will also be targeting corporate Jamaica with its products.
"The business model is simple: we are baking a much wider range of products than what your average bakery does," he said, pointing to the MegaMart range.
The supermarket bakery offers a range of muffins, various tarts, cakes, specialty breads, and a lot more.
Azan said the Beckford-Princess Street bakery would be used as a template for the other Sweet Things outlets, which he plans to eventually roll out in heavy foot-traffic towns in Jamaica, on a timeline still to be determined.
He has not yet decided whether the business model would be franchising, but it is under consideration, he said.
The first bakery is expected to create 25 to 30 jobs.
The building which is to house the new establishment has been painted yellow, with black andgreen trim, reminiscent of the Jamaican colours.
Azan said it would give the area - which is shabby, with many of the buildings needing repairs and painting — an aesthetic lift.
"The whole idea is that we want to upkeep the image within our little area. Often times, you can't rely on the city for that," he said.
"So we are putting in a big digital screen; it will be like Time Square, New York is to give that type of feel to the area."
The façade is meant "to give the look and feel of something really First-World", the businessman said. Inside, the bakery will be fully air-conditioned, and brightly lit.
By making this investment, Azan suggested, he is committed to the revival of downtown Kingston, where disorder — manifested largely in the chaotic, informal vending trade and security concerns — have driven away some businesses and customers.
"I don't think that we all should desert downtown; I think that more people should be investing down here," Azan said.
The remodelling of his Bashco chain two years ago was a J$100-million investment to reposition from a wholesale to retail operation, with wider aisles for shopping.
Azan said the move had allowed him to gain about 25 per cent market share.
"Since we remodelled our Bashco stores, the amount of uptown traffic that comes down here [Orange Street store] to shop with us is phenomenal. There is still a feeling that you get better bargains downtown," he said.
Azan is also remodelling the Ocho Rios store, and will next tackle Montego Bay.
A new store is also planned for Spanish Town, St Catherine.
There are now nine Bashco stores in the chain.
BUSINESS AGENDA
New bakery: Sweet Things
Investment: J$45 million
New jobs: 25-30