Bakewell to open five more businesses

Jan 17, 2012 News

The Bakewell Group of Companies is gearing to expand its operations with the

Management and Staff of Bakewell Group of Companies

establishment of five food stores, thus creating more employment opportunities locally. The entities will be housed in the Guyana Post Office Corporation building, Georgetown.
This was revealed by its Chief Executive Officer, Naeem Nasir, who was unveiling plans for 2012 at the company’s staff appreciation ceremony on Saturday evening at its Triumph bakery.
The company’s local and Barbados workforce is close to 300 persons and with the creation of these new businesses more jobs will be available on the local market.
However, a challenge Bakewell Group of Companies faces is the lack of human resources even though many persons complain about unemployment, Nasir said.
He insisted that this problem is not unique to his company since other businesses are also exposed to this challenge.
“At GPO it is our intention to establish five stores. There are going to be Roti Hut, Rituals, a pastry shop with an ice cream counter, a fast food Chinese which is patterned after China Express in North America, and Pizzaboy. Towards the end of February all of these businesses will be on stream,” Nasir stated.
He stated that when Roti Hut was launched at Albert Street, Georgetown in 2006 as a prototype, the creation of another branch was dependent on its success. Today, there is another Roti Hut along with Rituals at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Since Bakewell’s establishment on August 29, 1988 conducting business in Guyana has become easier in some areas such as accessing raw materials but transportation remains a challenge, Nasir said.
Nonetheless, as the company welcomes these new establishments, efficiency is its theme for 2012. To make ‘efficiency’ a reality the company invested in excess of US$600,000 at its Triumph bakery last year.
The investment was geared towards mechanizing its operations cutting operational hours and in turn reducing the business’s overhead cost. The company has almost 40 trucks on the road supplying families countrywide with fresh quality products. Yearly, the company sells in excess of $1B in bread.
Nasir asserted that the organization’s success was made possible with the dedication and contributions of staff. Eighteen outstanding employees were honoured. They included Sunil Hardial, Kampta Sumintra, Omar Khan, Hamid Mohamed, Lloyd Kissoon, and Imran Samad.