JAMAICAN HARDWARE Giants, Mainland Inter-national, will open their much anticipated retail superstore at the beginning of March.
The Mainland International Super Home Centre is located on the periphery of Spanish Town in St. Catherine and will offer over 140,000 square feet of retail space, making them the largest retailer of its kind in the island. The mega-store sits on 11 acres of land.
The Super Home Centre will offer a full range of construction materials, home furnishing and accessories, appliances, automotive supplies, paints, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, tools, carpets and self assembly furniture among other things.
The facility will include a 3000 sq. ft. pharmacy, a one-hour photo lab and a full-scale business document centre that will offer photocopies and printing services. The Super Home Centre will operate under the Pro Hardware banner. Pro Hardware is a Canadian firm that has close to 5000 retail stores throughout the U.S.A. and Canada under its umbrella. The store is expected to stock over 30,000 different items for sale. As a result of the Pro Hardware purchasing alliance, prices at the store will be very competitive and the merchandise will be top quality. Customer service representatives have been specially trained to offer instructions in the use of items to customers and assist them in do-it-yourself home projects. The project was undertaken as a joint venture between Pro Hardware, a subsidiary of the multi-billion dollar Sodisco-Housen Corporation, and the Jeffrey Myrie-led Jamaican group, Mainland International. The financing for the project was secured through Sun Trust Bank of Florida. The cost of the project is in excess of US$14 million. Mainland International's principals include members of the Myrie family as well as Michael Arison of the billionaire Arisons family who run Carnival Cruise Line.
With the addition of the Super Home Centre, Mainland will operate six outlets throughout Jamaica and employ close to a thousand persons, directly and casually.
