DERRIMON TAKES US COST-CUT ROUTE

DERRIMON Trading Company Limited is relocating its US wholesale operation from Brooklyn, New York, to New Jersey as it seeks to slash operating costs and return the business to profitability following a period of sustained losses. Chairman Derrick Cotterell told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday that the decision was driven largely by the high cost of operating in New York, where expenses including rent, insurance, municipal charges and even waste disposal have weighed heavily on the business. “We’re trying to save some cost as it was just getting too expensive to operate from that location.

We have moved the business to New Jersey, which is way cheaper. And that move will bring the business to profitability much faster,” Cotterell further told the Business Observer. He said the move to New Jersey is expected to reduce the US operation’s costs by more than 60 per cent, with the company targeting a return to profitability within two to three months of the relocation.

In a notice posted to the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, the company advised shareholders that its “Food Saver New York and Sampars New York stores will cease operations at 402 East 83rd Street in Canarsie, Brooklyn, with wholesale operations expected to restart from New Jersey in November 2026”. Derrimon’s Food Saver New York and Sampars New York stores will be relocated to New Jersey by November 2026. As part of the restructuring of its operations across the tristate area, the company also plans to place greater emphasis on e-commerce, through which it will mainly drive retail transactions, following upgrades to its Sampars online platform.

“Sales will go down a little bit, but we’re going to be profitable a lot quicker,” Cotterell said. The relocation also follows significant disruption caused by flooding at the Brooklyn property, which forced a prolonged period of closure of the supermarkets and resulted in substantial revenue losses. The US stores serve as both an overseas revenue stream and an export channel for Derrimon’s Jamaican brands, including Spicy Hill Farms products.

The stores, which operated under Food Savers NY and Good Food for Less through Derrimon’s Marnock LLC subsidiary, reopened in August 2025 under the Sampars New York banner after a nine-month closure caused by severe roof and water damage. “We’re still not 100 per cent satisfied with the repairs that were done, plus t…