Another good year for WIBISCO
Wed, 12/14/2016 - 12:00am
THE West India Biscuit Company (WIBISCO) is reporting another improved year of operations. That’s according to its General Manager, Adrian Padmore, during an interview with The Barbados Advocate.
He said that for the company’s financial year ended August 2016, WIBISCO – a leading manufacturing company – registered an improvement in export sales, although total sales were very much in line with the previous year.
However, the General Manager said that they continue to do a lot of work on their costs and efficiencies resulting in the Gills Road, St. Michael firm improving on its gross profit margins during 2016.
“So what we have been doing is taking a lot of costs out of the business and positioning ourselves to be more competitive in exports,” Padmore reported.
WIBISCO currently exports to about 20 markets in the Caribbean, USA, and Canada. He said that the local market remains tight and that they are putting a lot of emphasis on exporting.
Padmore pointed out that the Barbados market is open to a number of low cost imports coming into the country. As such, “the market is very competitive and we have to fight everyday for our share of the market”.
Exports are coming from a number of countries that include China, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, that are very competitively priced.
“So we try to ensure our quality is the best we can provide,” he remarked.
The WIBISCO official stated that the fact they are manufacturing here (in Barbados) allows us to get to the market quickly. It is an advantage because it ensures our products are fresher than the imports.
Said Padmore, “We respect the competition and we are not fooling ourselves to think that consumers don’t have a choice. They have a choice, especially in this economy where everybody watches what they spend.”
He indicated that his “team of salesmen, merchandisers, factory workers, firmly believe in the products we make and represent them fiercely and strongly everyday”.