RETAIL king Gassan Azan has invested almost $20 million in a new Bashco store on Church Street in Montego Bay, bringing to 11 the number of outlets in the popular chain across the island.

The new store, which opened on June 9, is the second Bashco in Montego Bay, the first being a wholesale outlet on Barnett Street.

“What we’ve started to do is a self-serve concept. In fact, we did that first in May Pen,” said Elias Azan, chief operating officer of Bashco, who pointed out that a similar concept obtained at other Bashco stores in major town centres.

The new store, which already employs 40 persons, occupies approximately 45,000 sq ft in a three-storey building.

Elias Azan said that the ground and first floors serve as the retail space on the building, while the third floor is used for storage.

“It has come out very nice,” he said of the building which the company had to refurbish. “We even had to change the utility pole outside because it was really rotten, and we have parking for about 40 vehicles.”

He said that sales have been brisk since the opening of the store which has four cashiers for now but will add another four when all the refurbishing work is completed.

“We’re very encouraged by the number of customers we are seeing,” he told the Observer West. “It is in keeping with our expectations. We are pleased with the results so far.”