SVL adds retail centre to forex, remittance network
Published:Wednesday | December 22, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Sabrina Gordon, Business Reporter
Supreme Ventures' Financial Services subsidiary has added another retail outlet to its network, as it seeks to grow its underperforming remittances and foreign exchange trading business.
The new shop in May Pen, which grows the network to six outlets, comes months after the lottery company reported that revenue contribution from Supreme Ventures Financial Services Limited (SVFSL) had fallen more than 15 per cent in the nine-month period from $131.8 million to J$111.5 million.
SVFSL's faltering income was due largely to the performance of the foreign exchange market, which found stability and saw gains to the local currency, resulting in a 27 per cent decline in the company's revenue from five cambios, notwithstanding a gain in currency sales above the 2009 year.
Floating dollar
For all of 2009, SVFSL sold US$65.93 million of currency when the dollar closed the year at J$89.60:US$1.00; sales in 2010 hit US$66.05 million at November 17, according to central bank data, with the dollar floating between J$85 and J$86.
The company, an agent for international money transfer company MoneyGram, also reported a one per cent decline in remittance commission spreads as the Jamaican currency appreciated.
Still SVL group contends its subsidiary, which maintains its No 10 spot in a cambio market of 68, is doing well in the financial services market.
"There has long been the demand for a Supreme Ventures regional retail centre in the mid island," said Sonia Davidson, vice-president of corporate commu-nications at Supreme Ventures Limited.
Her comments mirror stated plans in SVL's 2009 annual report to grow the financial services revenue through the expansion of its MoneyGram and cambio networks.
But the company would not be drawn on how many more outlets are planned. Each requires sign-off by the Bank of Jamaica.
SVFSL operates a network of five other retail locations in Kingston, Spanish Town, Savanna-la-Mar and Montego Bay, which are buffered by 91 sub-agents spread nationwide.
"For MoneyGram, we have the largest sub-agent network that offers send-and-receive transactions and we will continue to grow the business through an increase in the sub-agent network and volume of transactions," said Davidson.
Payment centre
Volume transaction data was not immediately available and neither was growth projections for the remittance business.
The new 966 square foot May Pen office, located alongside its existing business, the Acropolis gaming room, will offer money transfer and foreign exchange services, as well as act as a payment centre for SVL lottery game winnings of up J$300,000.
SVL invested some J$100 million in its set up and created four new jobs.
"The office is located adjoining the Acropolis May Pen building, so all we are doing is making better use of the large space at that location," said Davidson.
"The Financial Services office will have its own entrance and separate operations from the gaming lounge, so all we had to do was reconfigure existing space," she said.