The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Super Value owner Rupert Roberts has reassured customers of his 13-store grocery chain and the Bahamian public: “I’m really on the road to recovery.”

Giving a cheery smile and a thumbs-up from his hospital room in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, 88-year-old Mr Roberts confirmed to Tribune Business that he is now out of intensive care with ‘no concerns about the future’ as he recovers from pneumonia.

One of the country’s most prominent businessmen, Mr Roberts was flown by air ambulance from Nassau after being struck down with the illness and urgently needing blood transfusions. Super Value staff immediately rallied to give blood after flyers were circulated of his predicament on social media.

He warmly thanked Bahamians for their blood donations and prayers for his recovery. The Tribune’s social media post about his illness was flooded with heart-warming messages of support, many from past and present employees.

Suggesting that there is “no reason why we couldn’t come back to the Bahamas in another ten days”, he also revealed that - once the pneumonia’s elimination is confirmed - he will likely have a replacement heart pacemaker fitted while at the Mayo Clinic before returning to this nation.

Disclosing that the heart pacemaker replacement had been discussed previously with Dr Duane Sands, his Bahamian doctor, Mr Roberts told this newspaper how the former minister of health extracted some 64 ounces of fluid from his lungs as part of efforts to stabilise him and treat the pneumonia so he was sufficiently well to be transported by air ambulance to Minnesota.

Describing himself as “still young”, Mr Roberts voiced optimism about Super Value’s future under its president, Debra Symonette, who he said has been managing the supermarket chain for the past five years, and the involvement of his grandchildren, Patrick and Paige Waugh, in the business.

He even disclosed that the company is “making big improvements” to its warehouse, adding that it had been “operating in the Stone Age and we are bringing it into the 21st century” by doubling the number of shipping containers it handles on a weekly basis from 250 to 500.

Mr Roberts founded Super Value and built it into the country’s largest all-Bahamian food store chain. He has also been a central figure in banking and commercial development for decades.

He was appointed chairman of Commonwealth Bank Limited after Bahamianisation and served from 1984 to 1992, overseeing rapid expansion after stagnation in the final years of foreign ownership, according to the bank.

During his tenure, the bank relocated its head office to 610 East Bay Street, opened branches in Oakes Field and Marsh Harbour, grew total assets by more than 700 percent to over $125 million, and increased net income from $1.3 million in 1984 to $4 million in 1992.