Furniture retailer ARD2K Electronic Company Limited has injected approximately $100 million into the completion of its new flagship store on Dunrobin Avenue in St Andrew in an aggressive move to boost business after 20 years in the retail trade.

The home and furniture store, which previously operated from the Village Plaza in Half-Way-Tree, also ran operations from two other locations in Mandeville and Montego Bay, which Managing Director Richard Hamilton said were shuttered to focus on its new location which will become the hub for all other future stores.

“We decided to merge all our operations based on the fact that the other locations were rented. We bought this new space and just decided to consolidate the business under one umbrella. We spent well over $100 million to get the space operational. This new two storey location is to be operated as a full furniture and home store,” Hamilton told the Jamaica Observer last week.

The store, which was opened just before the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic last year, currently offers a wide variety of home and furniture pieces to which the CEO is also looking to add new products as the business expands. He cited some of the additions to come as home fixtures among other interior pieces, doors and electronics which started out as a key product for the company but was later discontinued to focus on furniture retailing which remains the core line of business.

Speaking about the impact of the pandemic on his business, Hamilton said that the engagement of early cost containment strategies among other measures helped to cushion some of the fallout and has augured well for the entity which has grown revenues by over 25 per cent within the last two years.

“I would say that business is currently stable based on the fact that we had just finished building the new store and restocked when the pandemic hit. COVID has surely thrown us a little off game but business remains buoyant,” he told the Business Observer.

Hamilton noted that while the onset of the pandemic has halted plans for a grand opening of the location, arrangements are being made to have this done later this year. He said at that time, existing and new customers could look forward to bigger deals on home and furniture pieces. The company already offers flexible lay-away plans which give customers up to three months to pay for items.

As more companies go digital in light of emerging global trends and the pandemic, ARD2K’s boss also said that his company, in keeping with these best practices, will, in the coming months, roll out an e-commerce platform.

“When the platform is ready, customers from anywhere in the world can log on to buy and pay for products and they also have the option of having these products delivered to them anywhere in the island,” Hamilton said.

He added that as the company expands and positions itself to go after greater market share, the aim is to make the entity “the go-to place for all furnishing needs in the country within the next five years”.

“While we are currently in no rush at the moment, we are also considering the option of taking the company public as we seek to raise more capital in an effort to further grow,” Hamilton said.