Increased employment lifting retail sector: CPL

By MARK HAIHUIE
INCREASED employment opportunities in the economy allow for growth in the retail sector, says City Pharmacy Ltd managing director Mahesh Patel.
Patel told The National that this should be done while considering the short-term jobs creation from the PNG LNG construction phase and the massive unemployment that followed.
“After the construction phase, we were looking for 600 employees for the Harbor City and Koki supermarkets,” he said.
“We had about 4700 people turn up for a job, so just over 4000 people went home without jobs.
“We had a walk-in interview and there was a big crowd.
“These were educated people with qualifications.
“Construction was winding down in 2014 and that was when we actually started seeing the downturn.
“CPL’s performance during that time was very good because people had money in their pockets.
“We did not have too much kickback from the PNG LNG directly because they were all contracted out.”
Patel said unemployment since completion of the LNG project and other issues contributed to the drop in CPL’s performance.
“We are a long-term player here for over 30 years,” he said.
“We will keep ploughing on and once the economy improves, we will grow and create more jobs.
“This year may not be too promising but the economy will improve.”