Worldnet Group, through its trading arm, Worldnet Trading Limited, has further expanded its business portfolio with the addition of Worldnet Tyres and Accessories from which it is looking to bolster revenues.

Brought to market about two years ago, the new entity, director of Worldnet Trading Hurshel Cyrus told the Jamaica Observer comes as a progression of the company’s long-standing relationship with vehicle operators.

“We have decided to start now with tyres because of the long association that Worldnet has always had with vehicle operators, in particular public passenger vehicles (PPV). We’ve been trying for a few years to branch out with this business but we’re just now able to do so. As a group we first started out mainly on the financial side where Worldnet Microfinance did a lot of financing for taxi owners and operators, so this addition of tyres comes as a natural progression which will allow us to provide more goods and services for vehicles,” he said in outlining the reason for start-up of the new segment with the Business Observer.

“The prep work for this business started in 2020 where we began much of the research work, but we actually stared trading, in terms of having goods in the market, almost two years later when we officially commenced operations in about August 2022, after landing our first three containers of tyres,” he said.

With capital expenditure for the latest business venture said to be “not as significant” to date, Worldnet Tyres and Accessories currently operates two outlets located along Derrymore Road in St Andrew and in May Pen, Clarendon.

Following the recent embedding of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), Cyrus said this will allow for further scalability and efficiency of the company especially as plans to bring more locations on stream are finalised.

“We’ve spent the better part of a year installing this system but we are now at a point where we can begin to scale the business and do it even more quickly. We recently opened our second branch in May Pen and from all indications, this will be a very big one for us,” the director stated.

“For 2025, we should be adding another three to four locations because we already have the lands and leases secured for these spaces. The intent is, however, to go islandwide as we expand the brand to give it more visibility…so we expecting great things from this move,” Cyrus further said to the Business Observer.

“Still in infancy stage, the expectation is for contributions from this business to widen our revenue base. As we move forward, we, however, expect to have significant growth and brand recognition in the coming years. These stores are going to be big and loud as they pop-up across the island,” he added.

Touting the establishment of the trading arm of the group as a strategic move, Cyrus said it has been helping the financial side of the business to also broaden its reach in terms of customers. At present tyres from the new entity can be purchased on layaway with one of several financing options offered by the Bank of Jamaica approved microcredit institution.

“This partnership is expected to be very beneficial as it provides an opportunity for both of us to reach more clientèle and to earn more income as they [Worldnet Tyres] offer the credit and we provide the financing,” CEO for Worldnet Microfinance Ltd Sophia Campbell said.

More popularly known in the market for its microlending business, which trades as a separate entity on the financial side, the Worldnet Group, through its trading arm, now operates a growing list of companies in the food, construction and hardware industries.

The companies include frozen meat and chilled products provider Nations Choice Limited in which it has been acquiring controlling stakes since 2018, agricultural entity Dencon Foods Ja Ltd and soon to be established hardware enterprise, Worldnet Building Finishes Limited.

“We’re just warming up as we have been working very hard in the last two to three years and the results are going to be seen and felt by Jamaicans. Nation Choice has already started to show positive results and this is going to expand even further in 2025. This company has always been big in the wholesale trade but we want to widen that footprint as we push products into more areas such as the hotel sector,” Cyrus said.

Further outlining some plans for the other trading businesses, the company, he said, is now busy testing a number of products which it should soon be able to roll out, several branded Worldnet tools and other items on the hardware side of the business.

“Based on the positive feedback we’ve been getting from some trials and testing being done, by the first quarter of 2025 we should become more visible in the market as our tiles and other products are rolled out. We’re very aggressive and remain bullish on the local market and so we continue to create more products and services for our loyal customers,” the director said.