Wisynco looks to reclaim ground as COVID restrictions ease
Published:Friday | July 2, 2021 | 12:06 AMRasbert Turner/Gleaner Writer
Beverage giant Wisynco is forging ahead in its bid to achieve a 60 per cent sales growth of its Bigga sodas in the United Kingdom (UK) market for 2021, and is bullish on profiting from the July 1 easing of COVID-19 restrictions that is expected to drive an uptick in commerce.
Director of Marketing Francois Chalifour said there are strong volumes in the UK to sustain the marketing push.
‘’We are on track with that commitment. We sent off our first shipment in April and a second is due for July. The focus continues for the next six months, but by October, we can speak on that,” he told The Gleaner on Tuesday on the sidelines of a house-building project at James Mountain, Sligoville, sponsored by Wisynco’s Boom brand and Food For The Poor.
Chalifour, who has led Wisynco’s marketing strategy for more than a decade, said that the company has no new acquisitions in its cross hairs for the immediate future, but remained “in a mood of readiness”.
The prospect of a return to in-person classes at schools and universities after the summer holidays could resurrect a major revenue chain, fed by canteen and school gate vendor sales.
“I am sort of sorry for the students, although there are remote teaching methods such as Zoom. I am of the view that students learn differently, and face-to-face [class] is one strong point,” Chalifour said.
Curfews and lockdowns caused the Jamaican economy to haemorrhage around 130,000 jobs in 2020, with unemployment running into double digit and poverty likely to have worsened from the 11 per cent registered in 2019.
But a propitious shift in the trajectory of coronavirus infections from crisis levels in February and March 2021 has seen COVID-19 cases slow significantly, triggering a relaxation of measures.
Fifteen-month restrictions on entertainment were lifted on Thursday, July 1, and schools, shuttered since March 2020, are expected to reopen for face-to-face classes in September after connectivity and equipment woes were blamed for learning loss, with some 120,000 students still not consistently captured in attendance logs.
The shortening of curfews – an additional two hours of freedom pushes the no-movement period to 11 p.m.-5 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays – is expected to give a financial fillip to Wisynco and thousands of Jamaican businesses.
Chaulifour declined to divulge in dollar terms the extent of Wisynco’s lost ground from the lockdowns, but said that the company aimed to continue reinventing itself and to remain relevant to the Jamaican economy.
“With the ease of the curfew and with proper maintenance of protocols, we are looking to supply the needs of customers. With all the places now ready for supply, our aim is to reclaim our pre-COVID position,” Chalifour said.