The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A leading retailer yesterday backed any potential acquisition of Bahamas Food Services (BFS) by the multi-billion dollar Texas-based giant, Sysco, as potentially “the best thing that ever happened to the food services industry in the Bahamas”.

Phil Lightbourne, head of Gladstone Road-based Phil’s Food Services, told Tribune Business that any takeover by Sysco, a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed company with $37 billion in annual sales, would benefit both Bahamian consumers and small food retailers.

Suggesting that only BFS, with the backing of someone like Sysco, would be able to meet the demands of both Atlantis and Baha Mar when the latter opened, Mr Lightbourne said the latter’s product offering and purchasing power would reduce prices in the Bahamas.

Tribune Business revealed earlier this week that Sysco was back looking at BFS, and Mr Lightbourne, a former BFS employee, said the purchase had effectively been approved back in 2005.

This newspaper revealed that deal back then, and Mr Lightbourne told Tribune Business that its consummation depended on the Bahamian people “believing it is good for them.”

Adding that the latest purchase effort was “in government’s hands”, the approval issue thought to be at least partly responsible for sinking the 2005 deal, Mr Lightbourne extolled Sysco’s future, describing it as “a leader in selling, marketing and distributing” food products in the US and Canada.

“First of all, it would be the best thing that ever happened to the food services industry for the Bahamas,” he told Tribune Business.

Pointing out that Atlantis already imported much of its food, and saying that 100 containers were frequently seen stored on Paradise Island, Mr Lightbourne questioned how this nation would be able to meet both its and Baha Mar’s needs when the latter came on stream in 2014.

Implying that the backing of an organisation such as Sysco was vital in dealing with this, Mr Lightbourne suggested its potential BFS takeover would create new jobs, preserve existing ones and help to reduce prices.

Adding that a BFS under Sysco would contribute real property taxes, business licence fees and Customs duties to the Public Treasury, the Phil’s Food chief said the latter would also introduce its own brands and products into the Bahamas.

“It will a gap” in the market, Mr Lightbourne said, seeking to allay any fears food stores may have about it competing directly against them by adding: “Sysco is a wholesale supplier, and this will not affect the retail market.

“Sysco will not hurt the Budgets, the John Cheas.... It will give consumers new products and affordable prices. If BFS closes its doors, who would fill the breach?”

Among those unlikely to share Mr Lightbourne’s sentiments are Bahamian wholesale industry rivals, who would fear Sysco’s market power could pose a competitive threat that drives them out of business.

However, the Phil’s Food head confirmed previous Tribune Business revelations that Sysco is prepared to do a Bahamian Depository Receipt (BDR) offering of shares to Bahamian investors to further ease the foreign ownership concerns.

“It’s in the Government’s hands,” Mr Lightbourne told Tribune Business of any potential BFS-Sysco tie-up. “The deal was approved from 2005. It’s a question of getting the Bahamian people to believe this is a good thing, and is not going to hurt the ‘Mom and Pop’ stores.

“There’s no entity in the Bahamas ready to serve Baha Mar when it opens. Baha Mar will import all its food, and this is going to keep people employed and their trucks running.

“The future will look great for the customer, and it will give Bahamians an opportunity to buy shares in the food industry in this country.”

Tribune Business revealed earlier this weak how BFS’s owner, Ben Frisch, who is also head of Jacksonville-based Beaver Street Fisheries, has been considering his succession for some time.

A number of suitors have approached him and had initial discussions, but no one has got further than Sysco. It is thought that only a player of Sysco’s expertise and scope would be able to provide the continuation BFS needs.