THE Meridian Store has no plans to expand beyond Taveuni despite repeated calls from customers to open branches elsewhere.
It’s managing director Champak Lal Dayaram saying the century-old family business remains committed to serving the island where it first began.
Mr Dayaram said the company’s success had never been measured by the number of branches it operated but by its ability to meet the changing needs of the Taveuni community over the past century.
“People have often encouraged us to open a shop here or there, but we have always believed in bringing people here instead,” he said.
He said opening branches in other locations would require significant manpower and additional resources, which the company believed could be better invested in strengthening its existing operation.
“Rather than expanding, we have continued improving this store to better serve the people of Taveuni.”
He said the store had gradually evolved over the decades to cater for changing customer demands, transforming from a traditional trading business into a one-stop retail outlet.
Today, Meridian Store supplies a wide range of products, including hardware, marine equipment, clothing, groceries and hospitality supplies, with hotels now among its major customers.
“The only thing we do not sell is liquor,” he said.
He said the ability to identify what the community needed had been one of the main reasons the business had remained successful for 100 years.
“Our focus has always been on serving the needs of the people. As those needs changed over time, we changed with them.”
From its humble beginnings, Meridian Store has grown into one of the island’s largest retail businesses, supplying hardware, marine equipment, clothing, groceries and products for the hospitality industry.
Today, hotels are among the store’s biggest customers.
“The only thing we do not sell is liquor.”
He said the business had survived for 100 years because it had continuously adapted to the changing needs of the community.
“Our focus has always been on meeting the needs of the people. As those needs changed over time, we changed with them.”
Looking back on the company’s journey, Mr Dayaram said its history was as important as its commercial success.
He said the story began with founder Dayaram Fakir, whose decision to settle in Taveuni laid the foundation for what would become one of Fiji’s longest-serving family businesses.
“It is important to tell the story of when he came, why he came and how he established himself here,” he said.
He said equal recognition should be given to the generations that followed.
“They were the pillars of this business,” he said.
“The business has always remained within the family. It has never been handed over to outsiders, and the people who carried it forward deserve to be recognised.”
He said Meridian Store’s evolution reflected the changing needs of Taveuni itself, with each generation building on the work of those before them.
“We should show what we were and what we have become today,” he said.
He has spent years preserving hundreds of historical photographs documenting not only the growth of the business but also the development of Taveuni and its people.
The collection includes images of community events, village life, schools, chiefs and early businesses, providing a rare visual record of the island’s history.
For him, the greatest achievement is not that Meridian Store has reached its 100th year, but that it has remained relevant by listening to its customers while staying true to the community where its story first began.
