Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

The Total service station at National Heroes Circle, Kingston. - File

Super Plus Food Stores is to open another food mart at Total Jamaica's outlet in Mona, Kingston, next week, its 14th under a partnership with the petroleum retailer.

Chief Executive Officer of Super Plus Wayne Chen told The Financial Gleaner that the idea for the gas marts was Total's, a French multinational which began operating in Jamaica in October 2004 after it bought out Roy D'Cambre's National Fuels and Lubricants, which operated a chain of 21 stations.

Partnership

Super Plus' partnership with Total began in January 2005.

Food marts are now found at almost all gas stations, and are a big revenue pull. A manager of one of the Esso Tiger Marts in Kingston told TheFinancial Gleaner that gas marts or convenient stores account for approximately 25 per cent of the revenue from gas stations.

He said the stores were just as difficult to run as any other supermarket with challenges such as storage, pilferage and pricing.

Total operates food stores at its stations worldwide, and wanted to standardise the product in Jamaica.

"They came in and realised it was a challenge to run them," said Chen, adding that Jamaica was the only country in which the French petroleum company does not operate its own gas marts.

Managing Director of Total Jamaica, Luc Maiche, was off the island and unavailable for comment.

"It is still very small but we expect to grow it," said Chen in response to the percentage revenue the marts contribute to Super Plus.

He said while the building belongs to Total, Super Plus leases the space and owns the equipment and food stock in the stores.

Other Super Plus marts in the capital are at Total's flag ship station at National Heroes Circle, and outlets at Harbour View, Stanton Terrace, and Washington Boulevard.

"It's something we are going to expand in the future," said Chen, indicating that all 21 refurbished Total stations would eventually have Super Plus-operated gas marts.

susan.smith@gleanerjm.com

Taken from the Financial Gleaner Friday September 22, 2006.