Megamart, the popular shopping retail chain founded and run by Gassan Azan celebrates its 10th anniversary this month and continues to expand its footprint across the country and is eyeing a presence the wider Caribbean.

Back in 1998, Azan and his partners where taking an overview of the retail landscape in Jamaica and discovered there was no corporately structured retail side to the business. At the time he noted the impact that big retail structures like Wall Mart, and Costco were having in the United States and thought he could emulate and execute this right here in Jamaica where the concept did not exist. For decades retail shops were run by family concerns and were small and limited in scope and offerings, but Azan set about changing all that. 

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report from his offices in Downtown Kingston yesterday, Azan said: “We were at Hellshire one day eating fish and we spotting this track of land which the Government put up for sale. We thought maybe we should buy it and put up one of those big box retail outlets that you see in the United States.

“My partners said if you are serious we would like to participate and I though why not. Let’s give it a shot. Initially I thought the Portmore store would come in at around US$2 million. It came in at five times that!”

Today, the three Megamart emporiums located in Portmore, Waterloo Road, Kingston; and in Montego Bay gross over $10 billion a month.

“To be honest, I don’t think we are tapping into our full potential,” said Azan, whose investment and entrepreneurial zeal earned him an Observer Business Leader nomination in 1999. “In fact, we could increase that by another 30 per cent, taking it up to $13 billion a month but one has to bear in mind that the economy is getting tighter. If Jamaica was a prosperous country with more disposable income we could do even better!”

(Read the full feature of how Azan built the Megamart empire and how he intends to expand the brand both in Jamaica and the Caribbean in Sunday Finance in your Sunday Observer)