Business View Caribbean | September 2022

38 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 of Barbados has also been a major support to businesses and residents during recent events, Eastmond adds, “Good thing about it, you build resilience for these things. And the government has been truly a good partner in terms of listening to the people and ensuring that everybody is collectively trying to get back to normalcy.” While only 10% of customers are tourists, the Sky Mall does play a major role in the community, not only as a shopping destination but also as a source of employment. With four employees, who Eastmond notes do 95% of the administration work, Sky Mall is supported by Williams Industries. The mall employs a range of supervisors, security, cleaning, maintenance, and administrative personnel to run the daily operations. The true source of opportunity for work is provided by the businesses and services in the mall, who employ over 300 people. As for customers, the supermarket is a large draw for shoppers. Proximity to Ross University is another source of business, and a target market for the mall. Reaching out to small entrepreneurs who are starting out is a way that the mall supports the people of the community, offering them the opportunity to display their offerings to the public. Giving to various community groups, from schools to food drives is another role that Sky Mall takes seriously. “We play a big part in that, because we believe as part of the community that surrounds us, and beyond us, that we have to take an active role,” Eastmond says. On the sustainability side, reliance on photovoltaics is part of the effort for Sky Mall to be an environmentally responsible facility, while also saving on energy costs. In other green initiatives, Barbados has introduced a plastic and foam ban, meaning that restaurants have had to find new solutions to food packaging at a much higher cost. This has posed another challenge for the restaurants in the mall. As Eastmond describes, “A lot of the packaging would have increased by 300%. And of course, there wasn’t the same toughness because it’s biodegradable,