MegaMart Portmore to Close After 27 Years | Business Day

Ajouté : 2026-05-31

[00:00:03]Time now for the business day. Residents of Portmore were left stunned after the announcement of the closure of Mega Mart in the Sunshine City. Cost Club, which operates the Mega Mart chain of stores, says this is part of a strategic consolidation of its retail operations.

[00:00:23]Come June 30, Mega Mart's Portmore location will close, ending 27 years of operation. This branch is also the first location for the retail giant, which opened in 1999. Chairman Gasan describes the decision as difficult, a sentiment shared by long-standing customers.

[00:00:43]>> Actually, it is um more convenient for me right here because I don't live far from Mega Mart, you know, so it's going to, you know, impact me a lot. Yes, she going to affect me because Mega Mart employ more people which I would get if I faction to carry from G to Mega here. I no longer want to have them. So find a list of food get you. So I miss it a lot and I used to do my little shopping over there also. You understand? I mean so I miss it.

[00:01:17]selling.

[00:01:18]>> According to Mega Mart, the move follows an extensive review of the company's operating environment and forms part of efforts to strengthen the business for long-term sustainability and growth.

[00:01:29]Activities at the Portmore branch will be consolidated at the Waterloo Road and Mandiva locations. The company cited several challenges affecting the retail sector in recent years, including the impact of Hurricane Melissa in October last year that forced the closure of its Montego Bay branch, increased competition, changing consumer spending habits, and the rise in online shopping and direct importation by customers.

[00:01:55]Ninsky Robinson, TVJ News. Butterfield Bank is acquiring a 91.7% controlling stake in CIBC Caribbean Bank in a deal valued at approximately 1.79 billion US. The transaction will involve about $1.09 billion US in cash and roughly $73 million US in Butterfield shares. Butterfield is a fullervice bank and wealth manager headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. The combined entity is expected to become the largest independent bank serving island economies in the region with expanded operations across Bermuda and the English-speaking Caribbean. The combined banking group says the transaction will improve its ability to process crossborder payments and support continued investment in technology, digital banking, and cyber security.

[00:02:50]Following completion of the acquisition, Butterfield says it intends to buy out the remaining minority shares in CIBC Caribbean, creating a regional banking and wealth management group with approximately 29 billion US in assets.

[00:03:06]The JC index advanced by 1,435 points to close at 340,627 points, while the Junior Market Index advanced by eight points to close at 3,100 points. The advancers included Elite Diagnostic, Lumber Depot, Kingston Properties, Caribbean Producers, and Sterling Investments. The losers were led by First Rock Real Estate Investments as Brighton and Suns Holdings 6% Preference Shares, Paramount Trading, First Rock Real Estate Investments, US Dollar Shares, Innovative Energy Group, 14 stocks traded firm. And at the end of foreign exchange trading, banks and Cambios were selling the US dollar for an average $158.28.

[00:03:54]The Canadian dollar is being sold for $1159.

[00:03:59]The pound is going for $212.13 while the euro is selling for an average $18848.

[00:04:09]And that's the business day. News from overseas is next.