GraceKennedy Takes Charge
In June 2003 Grace Kennedy Limited acquired 67% of H & L and its subsidiaries, H & L True Value, H& L Agri and Marine Co. from Pan Jamaican Investments (Pan Jam), which was to be later merged with the hardware division of Grace Kennedy, Rapid & Sheffield Company Limited, and Agro Grace Ltd. Ian Jackson, the general manager of Rapid Sheffield stated,
“Grace, Kennedy has bought H & L True Value and H &L Agri & Marine. We project that in the next three months we will get the organizations together. We will be forming a new company called Hardware and Lumber Limited (H&LL) which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Grace, Kennedy… there would be a merger of four existing companies into two divisions of H&LL. The hardware division of H&LL will consist of the merged operations of H&L True Value and Rapid Sheffield. We will also have an agricultural arm which will consist of Agro Grace Ltd. and H&L Agri & Marine Co. Ltd.”
H&L Agri and Marine Co. Ltd (formerly HALAGRO) had one branch at 697 Spanish Town Road while Agro Grace Ltd. had four branches in Kingston, Southfield St. Elizabeth, Montego Bay and Brown's Town in St. Ann. Operations at these locations have been maintained operating under the brand Agro Grace. By the end of the first quarter of 2004, the hardware outfits were merged. One of the points of consideration was the overseas affiliations that both Rapid Sheffield and H&L True Value are a part of. H&L had a co-operative agreement with True Value out of the United States. Rapid Sheffield had a similar alliance with Do-It-Best out of Indiana, USA.
The co-operative is a group of individually owned hardware stores that operate under the True Value or the Do-It-Best brand. It is not a franchise a one-time membership fee was paid. Once the company adheres to the standards of the co-operative then the membership continues. The challenge that was faced was which co-operative to keep. Down the line the alliance which was chosen and is maintained today is the True Value alliance. The benefits of the co-operative include support in the following ways:
- Purchasing as part of a larger group
- Store design and layout
- Staff training
- Store brands (True Value and Do It Best brands of products)
The larger organization is able to get better prices, which in turn is passed on to consumers. The stores became much more customer-friendly and there was a greater selection of products, thus increasing their overall efficiencies.
GraceKennedy acquired Hardware & Lumber from Pan Jam in the form of an exchange of shares. Pan Jam received shares in Rapid Sheffield and Agro Grace. John Mahfood, who was then the Chief Operations Officer of the Retail & Trading Division of GraceKennedy, was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Hardware & Lumber Limited. With this merger, there were now 15 retail H & L stores and 5 Agro Grace stores islandwide.
Hardware & Lumber Today
Hardware & Lumber Limited, with Anthony Holness at the helm, is a local household name in the distribution of hardware, lumber, building supplies, home improvement inputs, house wares and appliances. Our clients are resellers, building contractors in the public and private sector and the single individual. We have one of the best distribution networks, with sales representatives covering the island and an excellent delivery system.
In the merged entity the number of stores was not retained. In Ocho Rios a much larger facility was built to combine the existing locations of H&L True Value at 99 Main Street and Rapid Sheffield, on 144 Main Street. The entire staff complement of the merged stores was made redundant and then re-employed, with GraceKennedy employing those in supervisory and management positions and shop floor personnel responsibilities been outsourced to a third party contractor United Management Services (UMS).
In 2005, H & L True Value took the hardware and home improvement market by storm with the re-branding of its H&L True Value stores. The GraceKennedy merged operations were re-branded Rapid True Value. Rapid True Value became the first of its kind in the country to offer consumers the ultimate combination of size, product selection and service all under one roof! Not to be outdone, branches islandwide were subsequently renovated to reflect the sharp image of their flagship store at Lane Plaza.
Rapid True Value is Jamaica’s premier retailer of hardware and home improvement products and services. The stores are differentiated by their product offerings – those catering to the core contractors/developers and resellers are classified as Hardware Stores and operate out of six locations islandwide, namely; Spanish Town Road, Slipe Road, Newport East, May Pen, Santa Cruz, Savanna-la-mar (a smaller branch located in St. Ann’s Bay was recently closed). While those offering core home improvement inputs are classified as Home Centres and operate out of seven locations islandwide. Three of these are strategically located in the capital city Kingston, the recently launched 25,000 square foot ‘Super Store’ at 144 Main Street, Ocho Rios – a merging of the 99 and 144 Main Street stores, the fifth is located Portmore, the sixth located in Mandeville and the seventh in Montego Bay.
Office Services Limited (OSL) is a subsidiary of Hardware & Lumber Limited; its core function is the provision of Scaffolding Equipment Hireage. Grace Kennedy is now the majority shareholder and Pan Jamaica is a minority shareholder along with the smaller shareholders. Hardware & Lumber Limited remains a Company listed on the JSE.
