Claude Wilson - Staff Reporter

The GraceKennedy (GK) presence in North Coast tourism region of Jamaica was strengthened recently with the addition of the Agro Grace brand in Ocho Rios. The Hardware & Lumber subsidiary, and the sixth branch islandwide, began serving the agriculture and horticulture sectors on February 4, 2008 joining GK Group members Hi-Lo Foods, Rapid True Value and Grace Kennedy Remittance Services in the potentially lucrative tourism area.

“We have always been looking for ways to expand our business; and in St. Ann we already have a captive market through our Browns Town branch that serves mainly the inland farming communities of the parish”, says Agro Grace Retail and Marketing manager Olive Downer Walsh. She adds that in contriving the Ocho Rios store, “We saw Ocho Rios as a strategic location from where we could improve our services delivery to St. Mary, St. Ann and Portland”.

Located at 99 Main Street, Agro Grace in Ocho Rios allows for improvement in cost-effectiveness and for more efficient delivery of products to dealers and end users in the northern region and whilst capturing new market opportunities.

The north coast region, Mrs. Walsh says, is an area where growth is taking place due to on-going expansion in the tourism product which coincides with an increase demand for landscaping, and public health products. “It is a high density area for hotels, villas with highly residential communities, and there is also the wider farming sector that have needs that Agro Grace can and will supply”.

Agro Grace in Ocho Rios caters to the needs of home and hotel gardening, for landscaping, feed and medication for domestic livestock and pets, vegetable seeds and pesticides necessary for successful crops and vegetable production.

According to the retail and marketing manager, Agro Grace is currently growing its Home Garden portfolio and in Ocho Rios there is a market for horticulture and landscaping products that was not being served directly. “We have positioned ourselves in Ocho Rios to satisfy the needs of some of the hoteliers, landscapers, villa operators, farmers and the general consumers”.

Agro Grace Retail & Marketing manager Olive Downer Walsh (left) presents a token of appreciation to Evadney Williams, the first customer at the new Agro Grace branch in Ocho Rios. Branch Manager Peter Mitchell (right) shares the moment

Consumer response has justified the move to establish a presence in Ocho Rios. “The response is quite satisfactory and evaluation done at the end of two months confirmed that Ocho Rios was indeed a good, strategic move”, Mrs. Downer Walsh declared.

The Peter Mitchell managed store is equipped with a greenhouse facility providing gardening enthusiasts, hobbyist and a growing number of professionals, who are more intimately involved with their outdoors, with ornamentals, flowering plants, fruit trees, and seedlings for home and commercial vegetable production.

Agro Grace, Your Complete Farm and Garden Centre, is the island’s leading provider of high quality vegetable seeds, a wide range of public health and safe agricultural pesticides, fertilizers, home garden products, small and large agricultural tools and applicators, animal feeds and other livestock products.

Posted: May 26, 2008