The second Massy Store opened its doors on Wednesday at the MovieTowne Complex at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown and the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan has urged that local products are not excluded from the shelves of the new store.
“I have been to several supermarkets and I have seen the contempt with which local products are treated. This cannot continue, we are no one’s cash cow and I wish to reiterate we welcome all investments but partnerships between the foreign investor and the locals must be encouraged and developed as an integral part of doing business in Guyana,” Minister Jordan said in his feature address.
The Minister explained that by not incorporating local products, the ‘small man’ is pushed out of business which in essence adds to Guyana’s unemployment rate.
“Supermarkets must avoid becoming centres of imported products especially those that can readily source locally, whether it is bottled water, packaged roti or sugar cake.”
This is Massy’s 49th distribution and retail store in the Caribbean region and the second in Guyana. The first is located at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
About 50 years ago the Massy Group commenced its operations in Guyana providing farmers and miners with industrial equipment.
Massy has now expanded its services to non-food items such as electronics, generators, tenting, luggage and auto accessories. The new store also includes a bakery, pharmacy and a deli.
Chairman of Massy’s Integrated Retail Business Unit, David Affonso said the choice of location at MovieTowne is to provide customers with many options at one location including cinema experience and premium dining options with an exceptional shopping experience.
“We have grown significantly since then in all of the industries in which we participate locally – technology, automotive, industrial equipment, gas products, financial service and of course distribution and retail,” Affonso said.
The local staff at the new store earlier this year benefitted from training and worked with regional and international retail leaders.
Massy has also implemented a charge for the single-use of plastic bags in its stores across the Caribbean region which has led to over 40.5 million plastic bags coming out of circulation in one year.
The store hours are from Monday to Saturday 9am to 9pm and on Sundays 9 am until 6pm.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister said that Massy’s expansion in Guyana is evidence of the confidence in the economy’s future.
“This Government is well aware of the role foreign investments play in the growth and development process of a country; we know that foreign investment is a major catalyst for economic development and modernization.”
The Minister said that Guyana has also seen rapid growth in foreign interest and foreign direct investment (FDI). 
According to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean, Guyana’s FDI flows is heading in a positive direction.
“Guyana foreign direct investment flows has recorded a positive upward trend from a low of US$58M in 2016, FDI flows quadrupled by 2017 to US$212M and these flows has continued this trend rising to US$826.4M by the half-year of this year,” the Minister said.
The FDI flow projection for this year is expected to touch a record of US$1.2B.
It was noted that the FDI flows have concentrated on the extractive industries – gold and bauxite mining and petroleum exploration. 
