New Fontana warehouse; Portmore opening pushed back

Fontana Pharmacy is taking steps to improve its efficiency, with the establishment of a warehouse storage space in Ferry, St Catherine.

Speaking on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds, Chairman of Fontana, Kevin O’brien Chang said that the new warehouse will help the company distribute stock more efficiently across its six stores.

“We have six locations now and sometimes getting goods from one store to another is difficult but having a warehouse at Ferry will improve the logistics,” he said.

Fontana currently has six locations across Kingston, St Ann, St James, Manchester and Westmoreland, with a seventh under construction in Portmore, St Catherine.

However, Portmore’s residents will have to wait longer than originally planned for the opening of the newest location.

According to O’brien Chang, construction and outfitting of the location is now expected to be completed by early to mid 2023.

The Chairman explained that lengthy lockdowns in areas of China have delayed the process, however, the company is aiming to have the Portmore location up and running by March 2023.

“It’s beyond our control that we can’t open as early as we wanted to, sadly. We were hoping to open by the end of this year, but it’s looking more early to mid next year, primarily because of the logistics hold ups from China,” he explained.

He said that while Chief Operating Officer, Ray Therrien and Chief Executive Officer, Ann Chang have stayed ahead of the curve with the purchasing of stock of the locations, there are some fixtures for the new location that have to be custom built.

“We bought early last year, so we had the stock and we bought early again [this year] so we have goods on order for the stores. But the fixtures and stuff that you can’t just buy off the shelves have been delayed,” O’brien Chang said.

Traffic concerns

Meanwhile, the Chairman noted that he is well aware of traffic concerns along the road where the construction of the new Fontana has already broken ground.

The pharmacy will go up next to the recently opened PriceSmart in Portmore Pines, an area well-known for traffic congestion.

According to O’brien Chang, the company has been in touch with the relevant authorities and have been assured that a solution is already underway.

“We are told the road will be widened to give a better flow and we’re hoping the authorities hold to their word because, one thing about Fontana, we’re about a convenient shopping experience and if the traffic is so heavy that you can’t move then that’s not convenient,” he added.

Categories: Taking Stock