Ambitious Icon boss all but ready to go public after 25 years

WESTERN BUREAU:

President of the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, businessman Moses Chybar, the chief executive officer of Icon Importers and Distributors, has outlined a range of steps he plans to take to reposition his 25-year-old company, which he wants to be a publicly listed company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange within two years.

“We have had over 27,700 percentage growth in revenue over the past 25 years since we started, and I think that this is quite a leap,” said Chybar, while addressing staff and customers at his company’s 25th anniversary gala dinner and awards banquet, which was held at the Couples Swept Away Resort property in Negril last weekend.

“We have pioneered the development of the Paradise Corridors into a commercial area. I knew for a long time that Paradise would become a commercial hub, and I am happy to be alive to see it as it develops. It is going to be the Fairview of Savanna-la-Mar,” said Chybar in reference to the business district that has emerged on the outskirts of Montego Bay.

“We have several strategic partnerships that are ongoing, and we are seeking to develop more in the years to come because, for us to get to one of the places we have been discussing for a long time, the Jamaica stock market, where we go public, then certainly strategic alliances will be important to that,” Chybar sought to explain as he revisited the strides the company has made since its inception, during which it has built up a workforce of more than 100 employees.

Among his ambitious plans, Chybar is also looking at expanding the company’s manufacturing capabilities and its much-sought-after Chill bottled water business, which he wants to take to the overseas market.

INVESTING INTO PRODUCING LOCALLY

“We are looking at manufacturing other products now, like garbage bags, and a few other products that we will not name today. Icon is going to invest more in producing goods here rather than importing,” said Chybar, who is buoyed by the reputation the company is building locally for its products.

In fact, Chybar’s long-term ambition is to see the retail space at his Paradise location expand into a one-stop shop for everybody doing business in western Jamaica.

“It’s also part of our vision to establish a business processing company to operate from Paradise,” revealed Chybar. “While I can’t say definitively what it will be yet, there are plans in place to establish something in the medical field to complement what we do now in the pharmacy business by 2026.”

Keith Duncan, chief executive officer at Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), who delivered the keynote address at the banquet, lauded the Chybar family for the vision behind creating and operating their businesses as importers and distributors.

In noting that, for a company that started from two containers, the company, which has expanded into over 50,000 square feet of building space, earning over 27,000 percentage points in revenue growth in 25 years, it has proven that it has what it takes to go public and do well.

Duncan also provided a preview of what to expect when Icon becomes a public company, saying Jamaicans will be happy and willing to purchase Icon shares. However, he encouraged the members of the board to prepare themselves to face hard and extreme pressure from shareholders.

“Prepare yourself, Moses and the Chybar family, because it is going to be an exciting journey… . You can fuel your expansion if you take it public; that’s a possibility,” said Duncan. “I know it can be done because you have a strong story. You have the financial performance, you have built out a resilient, diversified business, and you have a powerful business in 25 years, a very strong legacy to build on.”

Albert Ferguson