Island Grill outlet in Portmore, St. Catherine.

THE BARBADOS ADVOCATE:

ONE OF the most guarded secrets in Barbados is the level of revenue generated within the local fast food sector.

Yet it has to be significant, otherwise the major players in Barbados would not have been expanding, the country would not have been attractive to many of the foreign ones knocking on its doors, and Government would not have been reluctant to open the sector to competition from outside the region.

All of this comes in the wake of plans by Island Grill, a Jamaican fast food franchise to open an outlet in Barbados, under a partnership with Goddard Enterprises Limited.

"We plan to locate the restaurant at the airport in Barbados," said Thalia Lyn, managing director of Island Grill.

Lyn said officials from the Goddard group in Barbados were to visit Jamaica to plan out the details, deadlines and procedures of the agreement and to finalise the deal.

Once the deal is concluded and Island Grill does set up, it will further diversify the market based on what it intends to offer and putthe market in the spotlight once more, and above all intensify the competition which is a hallmark of the sector.

The market is growing with estimates of revenue hard to come. Some analysts who have ventured to offer a figure, point to amounts ranging between $80 and $100 million, and one even suggested as much as $150 million.

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH

Whatever the amount, there is a mad scramble to win market share. Over the last five to seven years the major players in the business have been expanding by opening new outlets at key locations. KFC is in Sheraton Centre, it is on Swan Street, Oistins and more recently, Hadleigh House.

KFC's managing director, Philmore Davis, explained at an awards ceremony of the company that the outlet had achieved significant growth in the market. He said that the growth from one restaurant back in the 1970s to 12 in 2005 is testimony to the confidence of the Barbadian public in KFC.

Big Johns, the newest outlet, operates from the location that was once occupied by Royal Castle. Chefette, the market leader, also has a number of outlets. While this is taking place, outsiders are still looking to enter the country.

APPLICATIONS TURNED DOWN

McDonald's, which made a brief entry in the late 1980s, exited shortly afterwards. However, a Barbadian was seeking a franchise to operate a similar set-up. Applications by TGI and Subway's were turned down by the local authorities. Royal Castle of Trinidad and Tobago was in and is now out; and so too Shakey's.

It is not expected that they will be giving up, and the issue is whether they will be allowed into the country. Barbados views fast food operations as indigenous and as sensitive industries for which outside competition will not be allowed, at least for the time being.

In other words the country has not scheduled this sector under rules relating to the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

However, the situation is different when it comes to Caribbean entities. The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas provides for the right ofestablishment of regional enterprises CARICOM states. This situation therefore will clear the way for Island Grill once the principals are convinced they want the company to have a presence in Barbados.

A press release two weeks ago said that this will be the first time Lyn will attempt to expand the brand beyond the shores of Jamaica since her failed foray in the Florida market in 2001/02.

Island Grill retreated from Florida in 2002, a year after setting up there, the market having gone soft after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York sent the U.S. economy into a minor recession.

FIRST STAGE

Lyn vowed then that she would use the Caribbean as the first stage for any future expansion outside of Jamaica. The journey to Barbados is in line with that commitment. She previously said she hoped to expand to St. Lucia, Trinidad, Barbados and the Bahamas in the future using partnerships.

"This is our first venture into the Caribbean. It is a strategic partnership because Goddard's is already in a number of countries, doing airline catering throughout the region."

Goddard's also partners with Sky Chef, which means that there is the possibility of the products Europe. Having two weeks ago opened its most-recent restaurant in May Pen, Island Grill currently has 13 stores. It plans another for Red Hills Road in St. Andrew by year-end.