A $60 million USD re-investment by Unicomer Group established their local and regional headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago. Today the company has over 1000 employees in 7 brands nationwide.
Background to the Investment
The COURTS retail chain opened its first store in Trinidad and Tobago 26 years ago and since its establishment the country became one of the most important markets for the brand. The Unicomer Group is one of the largest employers and retailers in the region serving over a million customers. With the acquisition of the COURTS chain by the Group in 2006, Trinidad and Tobago continues to be a main contributor to its strong performance in the region.
Unicomer’s growing success here made it imperative to seek more permanent storage space and processing capacity hence the decision to establish its million-dollar regional headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago.
Achievements
More than 40%
local market share
Over $150 Million
total investment in T&T
1 Regional
Jobs created
1000 local
employees
7 Nationwide
brands
About Unicomer
The Unicomer Group is a market leader in the 24 countries in which it operates and has established 7 retail brands in Trinidad and Tobago. Their main brands include COURTS, COURTS Optical, Ashley HomeStore, Lucky Dollar, RadioShack, ServiTech and shopcourts.com.
The role of Legacy state agency – InvesTT
One of InvesTT’s first strategic interventions for this investment was to engage the Ministry of Works and Transport on the construction of the frontage road which was critical to the success of the project. The agency also assisted with the fast tracking of the approval process for all relevant construction permits.
The facilitation team acted as a liaison between Town and Country Planning, Environmental Management Agency, Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission, Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and the Regional Corporation.
Why Unicomer Chose Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago is well positioned to be the headquarters for Unicomer’s regional operations.
- Ease of doing business: Legacy state agency, InvesTT, provided liaison services for easier navigation of the regulatory environment during and after the re-investment.
- One accessible location: Establishing a regional headquarter in T&T gave Unicomer access to one location for all their activities.
- Connectivity: Daily flights to other Caribbean islands, North America and Central America by major airlines enable greater connectivity for Unicomer within the region.
- A strong economy: T&T is one of the stronger economies with a superior per capita income versus other Caribbean countries and other Unicomer markets.
Among the 24 countries in which the Group operates, the Unicomer Group considers InvesTT to be one of the best government investment agencies with which they have partnered. Without the agency's support and assistance, the Freeport project (regional headquarters) would not have been completed in record time and on budget. The level of support received from the VP, Investor Services and the entire investment team has been fantastic!
Mr. Clive Fletcher, Managing Director – Unicomer (Trinidad) Ltd