By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
Freeport, Grand Bahama- THE owner of a new Freeport-based food store yesterday pledged to Tribune Business that it was "100 per cent Bahamian owned", adding that the company would create some much-needed 40 jobs in a city desperate for employment when it opens in August 2010.
Steve Savola, Savemore's president and director, in a letter sent to Tribune Business responding to concerns raised about the company's ownership and possible future plans, said the new store would be 22,500 square feet and, as revealed by this newspaper, located in the former Pegasus Warehouse in downtown Freeport.
"I am a first-generation Bahamian born in West End, Grand Bahama, when my father Leo Helmut Savola was the accountant for the Wallace Groves Lumber Company. I have returned frequently to my childhood home and have always wanted to invest in my place of birth," Mr Savola told Tribune Business.
"My goal is to offer affordable product to the local customers and maintain consistent stock supplies, something my Grand Bahamian friends and family have lamented.
"Savemore will have a butcher's counter, deli and bakery departments as well, and I am pleased to be working with both international and local distributors who have embraced our presence and seem eager to have us join the Bahamian food retail business."
He added: "Once construction is complete, ordering and stocking of the store will begin as well as hiring of the estimated 40 local employees that will be needed. We will open seven days a week, with late opening hours and ample parking.
"I hope this information will allay any fears, and assure you that Savemore is a 100 per cent Bahamian-owned retail grocery store and will produce a quality product for Grand Bahama."
Mr Savola added that Savemore had already obtained its business licence from the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) via its president, Ian Rolle, adding that the GBPA and others had been "very supportive" of his first business venture in Grand Bahama.
Detailing some of the Bahamian companies that had benefited from construction work carried out on the Savemore property, Mr Savola said: "The Savemore premises have been completely upgraded, including new electrical wiring, state of the art 'green' appliances and total redesign of the spacious interior to allow for the ease of flow of customers.
"I have been very pleased in working with local Grand Bahamian companies. They include Allied Builders, Frecon, C & G Air Conditioning, Quality Plumbing, Sea Port Construction and Mechanical Engineering, and we have already begun work with local advertising company, Barefoot Marketing, to help us launch and promote our new business."
Concerns were expressed in yesterday's Tribune Business, chiefly by rival Jeff Butler, owner of Butler's Specialty Foods, that Savemore had a foreign ownership component, which went against the National Investment Policy of reserving the retail and wholesale industry for 100 per cent Bahamian ownership. It was said by multiple sources that Derek Kramer, the principal of Allied Caribbean Distribution, was involved with Savemore.
This, though, was denied by Mr Savola. Garland Evans, owner of Prime Bahamas, also told Tribune Business he and his family were not involved with Savemore, saying they "never had any interest in the Freeport food store".
Commenting on the likely impact of Savemore's arrival in Grand Bahama, Mr Butler told Tribune Business on Tuesday: "We have right now 11 grocery outlets in Grand Bahama with a population of 47,000 in a recession.
"If we did not have a recession, everything was hunky dory and there were 60,000-70,000 people here, there would be no impact because they would be able to serve a certain segment of people."
