Sandals buys local in Barbados

(Barbados Nation) – Sandals Barbados has spent more than $4 million buying local supplies in its 16 weeks of operating here.

Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart
Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart

Head of the Jamaican hotel chain Sandals Resorts International (SRI), Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, made the disclosure on Wednesday in an address to the monthly luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) at Hilton Barbados.

Some concerns had been raised as to how much Sandals would buy from the local market for supplies in the light of the significant import concessions granted to the chain to operate here.

Purchases from some local distribution companies amounted to $1.9 million, while $648,000 was spent on supplies from local manufacturers and farmers, according to a Stewart aide. Other details were not available.