[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast Saturday started with a proud morning for Excellent Stores and Gros Islet. The newest branch and the first non-Trinidadian location of Excellent Stores opened in the Johnson’s Centre in Rodney Bay. Franco Siu Chong, managing director of Excellent Stores Group of Companies, was delighted to announce that spreading the company’s reach regionally is an important step for investment. He also highlighted that the reason for choosing Saint Lucia for this investment is his daughter-in-law — Lisa Siu Chong, is Saint Lucian and presently the company’s director of human resource, marketing and e-commerce.
Franco Siu Chong emphasized the positive mark that he wishes for the company to make on the island. He said: “At Excellent Stores our mantra is honesty, hard work, integrity and, most of all, giving our customers a value for their hard-earned spend, delivering excellent service in our comfortable shopping environment and satisfying their needs for valued products, convenience and improved lifestyle.”
Further to the mantra, Siu Chong said that the staff of the most recent Excellent Stores will be 100% Saint Lucian and that “it is our intention to integrate into the local economy and truly become Saint Lucian”. As president of the Trinidad Dragon Boat Festival, Siu Chong has already started discussions with the Saint Lucia Yacht Club to bring a similar concept to this island. He predicts that it would be his contribution to the local tourism industry.
In attendance at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony were other members of the company’s board of directors, representatives of their foreign retailers and Sharon Amos, the winner of a trip to Saint Lucia from Excellent Stores as part of its 60th anniversary promotion.
The adjective “excellent” was tossed around a lot by all of the event’s presenters. Minister Bradley Felix, who featured an eye-catching hairstyle on the occasion, and deputy mayor of Gros Islet, Mr. Daniel Belizaire, both expressed satisfaction with the look, design, display and merchandise at the store.
