Barbados Steel Works

already set up two outlets under a subsidiary,La Belle Vie,to cater to a specialised area of the home improve- ment and finishesmarket.” Gafoor adds that since everything that the company can’t manufacture,or that can’t be sourced locally,has to be imported,maintaining good relationships with its suppliers is essential.“Themanufacturing base in Barbados,even though it is sophisticated to a certain extent,the range of products that aremanufactured and actuallyconsumed in Barbados as a percentage of the overall needs of the island,is small.To that extent, now,our best relationships arewith our overseas suppliers,because those guys are our lifeline; they’re the ones that we relyon to be able to source product of acceptable qualityand acceptable pricing points that we can get it into the Barbadosmarket.” Equallycrucial,according to Gafoor,ismaintaining a high level of customer service.“It’s key to thewhole process,”he states.“In themarkets that we’re in,we’re verymuch like a Home Depot or a Lowes inNorth America.It comes down towhat it is you offer,what your pricing point is,and howconvenient you are for your clients to find you and interfacewith your staff. Themost important thing is that,whatever their requirements,we are capable of meeting themand satisfying our customers’needs.” BARBADOS STEEL WORKS LIMITED “So,our keyhere is going to be physical infra- structure–going out and looking for land and/ or buildings that we can convert into outlets. We’ll find properties that are derelict or in poor condition,that we can buy,lease,or rent,or we’ll find land and develop fromscratch.You’ve got to have a physical presence,so customers can find you easier.There’s no sense inmarketing and advertising and then,when theyfind that you’re out of their wayand theydon’t plan to come in your direction,then you’re still going to lose out to your competitors.Physical structure is definitely key,now.That’s what’s on the front burner.We’ve undertaken that in our St.Lucia target market and it’s turned out to be quite successful. “Now,we need tomove forward in the Barba- dosmarket–to be able to branch out our retail operations to get directly to our end user.For Barbados,the end game in terms of outlets-I don’t thinkwe’re going to need to go beyond maybe three or four.I don’t think themarket is big enough beyond that,as yet.There are certainly two keyareas that we already identified that we’re going tomove into,and thenmaybe one that is further out,whichwill catch a certain element of trafficon the northern end of the island.We have PREFERRED VENDORS n Frontline Trading www.frontlinetrading.co n Guardsman Barbados Ltd. www.facebook.com/guardsmanbds