Rum shops ‘being hurt’ by branding

BAJAN RUM SHOPS are losing their identity, according to head of the Bajan Association of Rum Shops Franklyn Parris.

He is blaming the situation on branding by big businesses, which, he charged are offering few benefits in return.

At a panel discussion on Tuesday night, he said 50 per cent of shops had been branded and no longer bore their own names, such as ‘Ms Griffith’s Shop or Ms Peter’s Shop’.

“You don’t know who the shop belongs to, all you see is Banks shop or Mount Gay Shop. So, the shops are losing their identity. Nobody knows who they belong to. Even when you search across the Internet what you see is branded shops, you don’t see shops by name. Very few shops you know by name,” he said. (WILLCOMM)

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