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66 67 ship? LD: “All the lumber in our market is imported into Jamaica. Some of our other products are acquired locally, some we manufacture ourselves, and a lot of it is imported into the island.We have very strong sup- plier relationships, both on the construction and home improvement side and the agricultural side,with some of the strongest players in the world. For exam- ple, Seminus for seeds, and Syngento that provides us with things we use to grow, protect, and nurture agri-products. “We also have a strong and valuable relationship with True Value Hardware, one of the largest consor- tiums in the home improvement/construction sector. We do a lot of work in home and gardening, as well. We are their partners in Jamaica, and their largest partners within this region. In fact,we just won their award for ‘Best Hardware Store in Town for the Inter- national Division’ for 2106. “All our business right now is still domestic to Ja- maica.We have our eyes set outside the island,with a number of partnership discussions taking place–that could be a distributor relationship amongst other things,where we would be a provider of products and solutions. “We are creating a stronger super structure to launch elsewhere.The company is still verymuch focused on organization with the capability to deliver well outside of the regions of Jamaica and leaping forward across the Caribbean and Latin America. “In the last sixmonths,we split our wholesale divi- sion off from the rest of the business. So,we’re running three sales channels into the market.We wholesale to resellers in the middle market, large developers, BVC: What are the long-term plans for H & L? LD: “A key activity taking place with the cur- rent Hardware & Lumber Board is ‘let’s invest in the future of the business.’Our long-term vision is that the customer experience is going to be at the heart of everything we do. I know that sounds like an easy thing to say; everybody talks about the customer experience, but we’re laying a foundation to ensure that what we have for the future is a much more robust company.Our vision statement speaks to being the leading provider of quality products and services and solutions in the home improvement/construction/agriculture sectors. “So,we’re very clear around expectations in those three areas. First, it’s about being a brand name synonymous in the industry. If anybody is thinking about the agriculture sector, talking about agricultural products, or needing hardware and lumber,H & LAgro is going to be paramount in their minds; either for our products and solu- tions, or just to think about whether we should be engaged in the conversation about the way forward for their business.The same applies to the construction sector,where we have a couple of strong competitors.” BVC: Where do you source your products/lum- ber, and how important is the supplier relation- HARDWARE & LUMBER LTD.