Derrimon Trading Company
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Transcript of Derrimon Trading Company
WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER
The Derrimon story began in 1998, when Derrick Cotterell, founder and CEO of the Derrimon Trading Company imported several containers of granulated sugar to supply to local manufacturers of syrup. After the venture proved successful and more importantly profitable he quickly planned to expand his reach and now in 2014 his company is one of the leading distributors of products in Jamaica.
GROWTH GROWTH GROWTH
“We received word that Nestle was seeking contract
distributors,” he reveals, “As they were changing
their market strategy and wanted to give greater
focus on select accounts while having its remaining handled by
regional sub-distributors. As the world’s leading nutirion, health and
wellness company it was a strategic decision to partner with them,”
Derrick sought out the opportunity, and after consultations with
Nestle, the recently formalized and relatively unknown company of
Derrimon Trading was chosen to be one of Nestlé’s four regional sub
distributors in Jamaica receiving responsibility for the Kingston, St.
Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Thomas markets.
Strengthening The TeamWhat the Nestle contract did was bring about the formal start of
Derrimon and ensure the steady expansion of the business from year
to year. However, Derrick saw the need to enhance his company’s
efficiency in distributions and ensure a better market penetration.
This was when Winston Thomas, a veteran in the business of
distribution with over 27 years of solid experience was brought
in to strengthen the team. After years working for the likes of
GraceKennedy, Lascelles de Mercado and Pepsi Jamaica he was
swiftly appointed as Derrimon’s General Manager.
And with both Derrick and Winston focused on the business it
was time to move to the next level and this involved a move into the
rice field, “It was clear that Nestle products by themselves, could not
create the success of which we needed,” he relates, “And increasingly,
the itch to diversify, innovate and expand became unbearable.”
It was fortunate then that Nestle did not object to Derrimon
diversifying its clientele and soon they began exploring the potential
of importing rice and October 2006 saw the first importation of the
first container of rice which proved to be an unparalleled success, “The
demand for the product escalated and soon we became synonymous
with rice,” he explains, “There we established our reputation for
unmatched dependability, availability and excellent distribution.”
Continuous Innovation And A Drive For Growth
Even having established themselves firmly in the rice and Nestle
markets, the need to innovate and expand was now something felt
by the entire Derrimon team and this lead to several developments
“The demand for the product escalated and soon we became synonymous with rice. There we established our reputation for unmatched dependability, availability and excellent distribution.” Derrick Cotterell, Founder and CEO of the Derrimon Trading Company
DERRIMON TRADING COMPANY
Looking at their current success and status it would come as a surprise to know that the venture was not an instant success with Derrick’s focus being pulled to focus on another venture, Cotterell’s Texaco gas station which was owned and operated by the Cotterell family. In fact it was not until four years later in 2002 that Derrimon became firmly established into itself.
logistics support, warehouse storage rental and cold storage facilities.
With more than thirty years of operations, Sampars is one of the
largest and oldest wholesale businesses in Kingston
Thanks to them, Derrimon distributes island-wide with a fleet
of over forty delivery trucks and this coverage ensures effective
engagement between Derrimon and supermarkets, wholesalers,
grocery stores, pharmacies, convenient stores and food service
channels all across Jamaica.
Growth, Growth, GrowthThrough its years the one consistent theme spanning the
existence of Derrimon Trading Company, from its inception to today
is its growth.
At the start in 2002, when Derrimon first started distributing for
Nestle, it had less than 1,000 sq ft of storage space at his disposal and
for years the lack of adequate storage space would be a major and
recurring obstacle for the company. The solution came in the form of
stringent business planning and faith.
“My mother Monica Bell, was running her own business in
Kingston at the time and allowed us to store goods in her warehouse
when needed,” he relates, “Derrimon’s imports outgrew the space in
a flash however, and more space
was required.”
Dealing with outgrowing the
available space is not the worst
problem a business can face, and
in November 2007 the company
found warehouse space at 8-10
Ashenheim Road where, despite
having only rented a 2,500 sq ft
space, the owner of the complex
allowed the company access
to an adjoining 45,000 sq ft
warehouse.
Finally in 2009, Derrimon
was alerted that prime
warehousing facilities were
available at 235 Marcus Garvey
Drive with approximately
100,000 sq. ft. of warehousing
facilities, spread across 3.5 acres
of land which was large enough
DERRIMON TRADING COMPANY
over the next years. In 2009
they established their own cold
storage division offering items
such as offals, seafood and
mutton and shortly after a leap
of faith that took them beyond
the realms of mere distribution
and into the world of wholesaling
by acquiring Sampars Cash and
Carry.
“In the latter part of 2008,
Sam Richards who was the
owner of Sampars Cash and
Carry contacted Derrimon and
said that he wanted to sell his
business,” Derrick reveals, “Not
simply to the highest bidder but
to us particularly after hearing
about our success and growth.”
Through Sampars Cash &
Carry, the company also operates
for Derrimon to have its warehouse and offices together as the
company had always wanted.
The BoardIn 2009 Derrimon Trading established its board of directors.
Derrick Cotterell, Derrimon’s Founder & Chief Executive Officer, was
appointed chairman. The other appointees to board were Monique
Cotterell, Ian Kelly, Winston Thomas and Attorney-at-Law Alexander
Williams, as an external director. President of the Airport Authority
of Jamaica and Chief Executive Officer of the Norman Manley
International Airport (NMIA) Limited, Earl Anthony Richards, was
subsequently appointed as an external director. And together this
team would be responsible for the future of the company.
2014 And OnwardsThe trend of growing through all economic climates
seemed set to continue as of March 2014, Derrimon
Trading Company Ltd. reported to have trebled their
earnings and added Blue Power and Delect to their business
portfolio. This included an increase of net profits increased to $49.9
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Million and revenue grew by 10% from $4.7 billion to $5.2 billion for
2013.
Furthermore the company plans to capitalize on this growth by
investing heavily in its plans for expansion which include plans to
increase the number of Sampars Cash and Carry wholesale store
outlets to as much as seven in five years, to Increase the footprint of
its wholesale store subsidiary as part of a five-year plan and to ramp
up its e-commerce portal and allow members of the diaspora to order
online and have goods delivered to their homes and businesses in
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DERRIMON TRADING COMPANY
001 876 901 3344
WWW.DERRIMON.COM