Family operated Joong Supermarket and Wholesale has been expanded to include a home centre in Portmore, St Catherine.

The supermarket chain, which first began operation in Morant Bay, St Thomas, expanded its footprint to Stony Hill, St Andrew and Portmore, St Catherine as the company sought to increase market share across the island.

Having gained knowledge from operating an hardware store beside its St Thomas-based supermarket, the Chung family aims to create another one-stop shop for its customers in St Catherine. The new facility is branded Joong Home Centre.

“Portmore being one of the fastest growing cities in Jamaica and seeing that we already had a supermarket here it only made sense to bring the hardware business over as well. In Morant Bay the hardware is also close to the supermarket and we saw it as a good way to co-brand the two businesses,” Director Ryan Chung told the Jamaica Observer.

Portmore, one of the island’s most densely populated zones has within the past three decades, successfully provided home ownership opportunities for many Jamaicans. The fast-developing “sunshine city” is also home to many commercial entities rendering the community almost self-sufficient.

Despite a significant increase of business ventures in the city over the last five years, market entrants are still finding ways to effectively compete with industry giants.

Constructed on 3.5 acres of land in New Lands, Portmore, Joong Supermarket has been supplying the community with grocery items for the past 13 years. In addition to the new home centre, the location is also home to Joong Pharmacy.

“When we acquired the property we only knew that we wanted to have a supermarket, the remaining space we weren’t sure what we wanted to do with it. It wasn’t until about two or three years ago that we decided we wanted to put a Home Centre on the property,” Chung told the

Caribbean Business Report.

Joong Home Centre had its soft opening during the Christmas period stocking everyday hardware items such as cement, steel and sand as well as items for renovation, décor and gardening. The company has since created employment for an additional 14 people, most of whom reside in the surrounding communities, increasing the total number of employees at Joong St Catherine business to 80 people.

“We are not completely finished as yet, every day we have been bringing in new goods. We do have plans to construct a lumber yard storage for the tiles and we are working to implement light and plumbing displays for the customers,” Chung reasoned.

As for plans to compete with neighbouring hardwares, including construction giant Rapid True Value, “We plan to compete with prices and services, just like what we have been doing at our supermarket. We are offering good prices which we expect will overtime result in brand loyalty,” he said.

He added that the company prides itself on good customer service as it believes thata attribute is lacking not just in the construction industry, but right across Jamaica.

“I started with such a small number of employees first because I wanted to train them with getting familiar with the items and the usage so that they execute excellent customer service,” Chung said.