THEY are one of the oldest and the first pre-loved garment outlets in the country and they have grown from nine to 17 branches with plans to further expand their presence in other Pacific Islands.
Value City (SP) Ltd managing director Vera Chute said the company opened its newest branch in Navua after several requests from members of the public.
“It has been a good two years for the company and we have grown from nine to 17 branches.
“We are very happy to have heeded the call from customers from those different towns — Taveuni, Savusavu and Navua,” she said.
Ms Chute said their quality products and affordable prices had appealed to customers in the various centres over the years.
“We have also diversified our products and now we are not only selling textile and footwear but we also have moved into recycled furniture, office furniture and appliances such as television sets and stereos — which are all tested of course,” she said.
Ms Chute said she believed there was a huge demand for the products available at their stores, including their newest products — cleaning rags — which were quite popular with the industrial sector and shipping companies.
She said they had expanded a lot in the past two years to smaller towns, especially places that were isolated such as Taveuni.
“We are franchised to the Pacific and we have branches in Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Samoa and we are looking at Vanuatu and the Cook Islands.”
Ms Chute is one of the executive members of the Fiji Australia Business Council and she says being on the council has strengthened her network in terms of connecting with other investors and businesses.
“I have been on the council for one year and I believe my network has been broadened by it, meaning I have met a lot of Australian investors.
“However none of them are from the industry that I am in but it has strengthened the networking and sharing of information.
And now with the launch of the website for the FABC, we have been given that platform and who knows there may be some investors who are in the same business.”
