Disrupting Retail, Technology closes one door but opens others

In August 2020, Excellent Stores made a bold decision amidst a pandemic to convert the Arima branch location, a 9000 square foot store to a third of its size,  making it the Company’s first  Click & Collect Express Centre, where customers could easily collect their online orders and shop for essentials.  The company recognized the growing shift in consumer behaviour to shop online and was one of the first in the country to, not only launch an e-commerce platform in 2014, but integrate the omni-channel experience where customers can experience a seamless flow between digital and physical stores. This digital transformation did not happen overnight, and it did not happen as the result of the Coronavirus pandemic. It took years of planning, process reengineering, testing and implementation, and most importantly, a culture change to get to the point where, as a leading retailer, they could not only adapt and change according to the time, but survive these crises and provide a solid platform for the future.

Excellent Stores was recently awarded Finalist for the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce, Champions of Business – Business Technology Award. The award, sponsored by bmobile, is designed to recognise a technology-based or technology-driven company or an individual that has created or provided innovative technological solutions or services for new and existing market needs. Alex Siu Chong, CEO at Excellent Stores, expressed “To our customers – who have supported us over the past 62 years and over three (3) generations, we do this to serve you and your family. To help you, Live, Create and Do the best version of you. We are committed to bringing more innovations and evolve as you evolve. And we are committed to constantly improving and making each day, each interaction better than the day before.”

With the increased demand for online and curbside orders, Excellent Stores continues to upgrade its e-commerce business by repurposing and reallocating a greater amount of resources into its processes to enhance the customer experience and fulfillment processes, as well as a variety of payment options to increase its usability to a wider segment of the population. 

The Company will also be making another bold move by closing the doors of its longest standing branch.  The Downtown branch at Excellent City Centre, Port-of-Spain, will be closed at the end of December 2020, while the Excellent Group of Companies opens other doors with plans for Excellent City Centre.   

Customers will be able to shop at the Movietowne, POS location as well as the other branches at C3 San Fernando, Price Plaza Chaguanas, Trincity Mall, Arima and on the website www.myexcellentstores.com with deliveries across the nation.