Business View Caribbean | March 2021

111 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN MARCH 2021 PENNYWI SE COSMET I CS LTD that he would buy to resell. My father was studying at the University of the West Indies to become a pharmacist but at some point he thought that if he stopped going to school he would accomplish more than he would as a pharmacist. So he and three of his brothers dropped out and went into the business full time. The other brother went on to become an accountant.” The family scrimped and saved and opened another location at the Tunapuna market, gradually expanding their offerings as the business grew. Finally, in 1984, they opened their first Pennywise retail store in a small, 1200 square ft space in Arima. Building on a strong family foundation of hard work and dedication, the business has grown into one of the largest retail chains in the Caribbean in the field of health and beauty supplies. Now, in its 37th year, Pennywise Cosmetics carry thousands of SKUs and offer all the best brands at the lowest prices. They have also opened pharmacies at several locations with the intention to reduce the cost of healthcare in Trinidad. What would grandfather Lall think today? Shivum muses, “Maybe he did think it would be something big by now, but the scope of Pennywise even from what I remember when I was younger (I’m 30 years old now) compared to Pennywise today is vastly different. It’s a huge expansion we’ve been having over the past few years. My Grandfather passed away in 2010 and at that time we had seven stores. Now we have ten stores, including flagship locations in two Pennywise malls that opened in 2017 and 2019. My father has been the Managing Director, heading operations and purchasing, etc. since inception, and he is still running the business. I graduated in 2013 and immediately joined the business. My two brothers are also part of the business. One studied Business Leadership & Management and he began in 2014 and my last brother joined at the end of 2020 as a pharmacist. Eventually, we will take over, so my