2 weeks Ago
TWO popular household goods retailers, The Home Store and Excellent Stores, have closed their branches at the C3 Centre, San Fernando. This is not the only branch that The Home Store has announced it will be closing. The announcements were made on social media within days of each other.
The Home Store announced in a social media post on December 29 that it closed its C3 Centre, Corinth Road, San Fernando, and The Falls at Westmall, Westmoorings, branches. The post stated, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, we wish to advise that we will be closing our C3 Centre branch and our branch at the Falls at Westmall effective December 29, 2024. “Our Barataria, Pennywise Plaza, Chaguanas and East Gates Mall branches will remain in operation.
” The Home Store falls under the umbrella company LJ Williams which reported losses in Trinidad and Tobago for 2024. In its most recent financial results, LJ Williams stated that Group sales for the six months ended September 30, 2024 was $73.3 million compared to $78.
75 million for the corresponding period in 2023. “The company had a loss of $974,000 before tax versus a loss of $1.5 million before tax in the prior first six months,” the Group stated.
In his remarks, the chairman of LJ Williams Lawford Dupres attributed the decline to low sales in Trinidad. He said, “Most of this decline is due to lower sales and profit at The Home Store Trinidad. The company is in the process of restructuring The Home Store to reduce costs, with the expectation that the Group will be in a profitable position by the end of financial year 2025.
” However, the company saw improved results in its Guyana subsidiary, The Home Store Inc, and expected these results to continue into the Christmas season. The Home Store Inc locations are at the Amazonia Mall, Georgetown, and Goedverwagting, East Coast – opened on October 25. In addition to the increase from its Home Store Inc subsidiary, the company reported a 6% increase in sales from its food and allied division which was also an improved profit over 2023.
It added that the shipping division continued to be steady despite the logistics issues that impacted imports. LJ Williams also shared its issues with foreign exchange availability and stated, “The local availability of foreign currency has declined significantly and the company is reviewing its business operations to deal with this reality.” LJ Williams opened its C3 Centre branch in 2016 and was one of the first stores to be opened in the mall.
Its Falls at Westmall branch was opened in 2021. On Christmas Eve, five days before the announcement by the The Home Store, Excellent Stores announced that it would be closing its C3 Centre branch to relocate to SouthPark Mall, Tarouba Link Road, San Fernando. The company posted to Facebook, “After many wonderful years at C3 Centre, our branch will be relocating on December 31, 2024.
Although we must say farewell to a long-standing, it’s a necessary step as we prepare for our next exciting chapter.” In January, before the full move, the store will be relocating to a temporary location at SouthPark Mall before the official opening in February. “This temporary store will ensure we can continue to serve you while we prepare something extraordinary,” the post stated.
The company added that, in July/August, it will be opening a bigger two-storey store which will feature a fresh, updated layout, a wider selection of products and increased convenience. “While we recognise this is a change, we are excited about this next step. We deeply appreciate your patience and support throughout.
Thank you for being a part of the Excellent Stores family and for your continued loyalty. We look forward to serving you in our new and improved location soon,” it stated..
