December 2016 | Business View Caribbean

106 107 INDEPENDENCE AGENCIES, LTD. among other items, Hunts ketchups and sauces and Wesson Oil.We also represent Friesland Campina out of the Netherlands who supply us with Alaska powdered, condensed, and evaporated milk products. There’s Drummond in Canada for meat, beans, and salted fish; Anchor cheese and butter from Fonterra in New Zealand; a wide range of Eve products, Swiss brand, and Campbell’s; as well as other suppliers from the region like El Dorado Rum from Guyana. We are the sole distributors for these brands on the island, as well as many others too numerous to mention”. In 2002, Independence Agencies was approached by Goddard Enterprises of Barbados, a much larger distribution network in the Caribbean, with an offer to purchase the company. Sylvester says that the offer was discussed and initially refused but, after more negotiation, they decided to sell 51 percent of the company’s shares with the agreement that it would still be run by the family in Grenada. “Goddard, whose head office was in Barbados, had companies in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Antigua, and St. Vincent. It was the leading supplier for in-flight cater- ing throughout the region and was well-known, not only in the region, but far beyond,” Sylvester explains. “So, the advantage in partnering with them was that we would become more recognized by any new sup- pliers who approached us as we would now be part of the Goddard group of companies. “So, we thought that it was a good relationship to have, and by partnering with Goddard Enterprises, the company became more professional in its operations,” The small, family compa- ny that beganwith only three employees and one small van continues to growand expandwhile still serving itsmany satisfied customers on the islands of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique. We purchased property with the intention to build a shopping plaza at Grenville, a northern location of the Island, where the plan was to have another cash-and-carry outlet ... and lease out properties within the plaza to other retail outlets or commercial entities. Hopefully within the next five years or so, we might start our shopping plaza.” KEN SYLVESTER CEO