By Ernest KISSIEDU
Retail giant, Melcom Group of Companies, has officially opened its all-new Achimota branch in Accra.
The Achimota Melcom is the 38th branch for a company that has over 2500 staff currently in its employment base throughout the ten regions of the country.
Ranked 13th among Ghana’s top companies, Melcom has one of the largest chains of retail department stores in the nation.
Speaking at the opening of the new branch, Deputy Trade Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsey, called for the need to patronise Made-In-Ghana goods. This, he believes, will provide the platform to create more jobs for the Ghanaian youth.
According Mr Ahomka-Lindsey, the government has a very clear strategy on job creation; and the only way this can be done is through industrial transformation.
“We need to update the physical structure of our retail trade; so that the shopping environment people visit would be more appealing as compared to the traditional markets.
“One of our key areas of intervention to support is the domestic retail trade, that is, making the shopping environment in the country more nourishing, fulfilling and enjoyable for the Ghanaian shopper,” he stressed.
Thus, the deputy trade minister encouraged all potential and existing entrepreneurs to improve the environment within which they trade.
“In a bid to encourage the production of Made-In-Ghana goods, we must have more outlets to sell. …We are happy that Melcom has opened another branch, because it goes a long way to continually improve the environment of which people can shop,” Mr Ahomka-Lindsey observed.
Chairman of Melcom Group, Mr Bhagwan Khubchandani, thanked Ghanaians for patronising Melcom all these years; and added that new branch will help increase patronage the more.
Meanwhile, the Communications Director of Melcom Group, Mr Godwin Avenorgbo says the Achimota Melcom edifice has set new standards for ensuring a safe and secure environment for all their business premises.
“While we aim at satisfying our customers’ desire for convenience and variety, safety and security have become even more paramount in our overall attitude for doing business in Ghana.
“We have already made public a summary of all observations with regard to quality control during the construction phase of the structural framework,” he opined.
Structural integrity
The new edifice is a four storey-building designed with reinforced concrete structure with a single level basement parking lot. The total plot size is 0.70 acre. The building also has a concrete roof top with parapet walls to serve as a roof top patio.
The basement car park is 18,000.00 square-feet and provides parking spaces to the maximum of 48 cars.
It is an ultra-modern shopping facility which replaces the old Melcom building that collapsed some years back.
Adhering strictly to a Continuous Quality Assurance, Melcom made it a policy to maintain Structural Integrity on all its buildings in favour of public safety.
In the exercise of this policy, Melcom has ensured that Structural Integrity Tests are conducted on all Melcom occupied buildings either rented or constructed by the company for its operations in all the regions of Ghana being the offices, shops, factories and warehouses.
Writer’s e-mail: ernestk@businessdayghana.com
