| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | JSE: GK TTSE: GKC |
| Industry | Insurance, Financial, Banking, Remittances, Manufacturing, retail, distribution |
| Founded | Jamacia |
| Headquarters | Kingston, Jamacia |
| Products | Financial services, Drinks, Foods |
| Website | http://www.gracekennedy.com/ |
The Royal GraceKennedy Limited is one of the Caribbean's largest conglomerates, with several diversified companies in the Caribbean, Europe and North America.
Contents |
The group includes:
One of the company's founders (Dr. John J. Grace) had worked for Grace Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York's W. R. Grace and Company. When, in 1922, W.R.Grace decided to divest the Jamaican subsidiary, Dr. Grace bought the company and, along with Fred Kennedy, a Jamaican, co-founded Grace, Kennedy and Company Limited. The company which first operated as a small trading establishment, soon acquired wharfing facilities in order to facilitate its imports.[1]
It has expanded and diversified over the years[2], changing from a privately-owned enterprise to a public company listed on the stock exchanges of Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Today, the GraceKennedy Group comprises a varied network of some 60 subsidiaries and associated companies located across the Caribbean and in North and Central America[2] and the United Kingdom. Their operations span the food distribution, financial, insurance, remittance, hardware retailing and food-processing industries.[3]
In 1995, GraceKennedy developed its 2020 Vision, the objective being to transform from a Jamaican trading company to a global consumer group by the year 2020. At the end of 2006 its market value stood at J$21 billion, up from $1.29 billion in 1995 - an increase of 1500%.[4]