By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is aiming to have 12 franchise stores in New Providence by year-end, with its projected investment in the nationwide roll-out totalling $2.5-$3 million.

Dwight Gibson, BTC’s franchise operations manager, told Tribune Business yesterday that the communications carrier had identified a total of 15 franchise stores on New Providence as the optimum number.

The company is aiming to roll-out a total of 40 franchise stores, all owned by Bahamian entrepreneurs, as it bids to expand both its retail footprint and ownership/employment opportunities for Bahamians.

Speaking to this newspaper at BTC’s second New Providence franchise store, located on Prince Charles Drive next to the shopping plaza containing Marco’s Pizza, Mr Gibson said the carrier had identified 15 franchise stores as a “comfortable number” for New Providence.

“If you ask the chief executive, it [the roll-out] will be finished within the next two months,” Mr Gibson joked.

“Realistically, by the end of the year we will be up to 12, with the other ones coming on stream early next year.”

Acknowledging that BTC had an “aggressive schedule”, Mr Gibson added that this would ensure the company was “well established” in the marketplace by the time its cellular monopoly ended and competition arrived.

The franchise network will complement BTC’s five wholly-owned locations, and to give its franchisees a boost, the carrier is closing down its Fox Hill location by month’s end.

BTC spokesman Jerome Sawyer said the carrier would “drive a lot of traffic” from that location to Prince Charles Drive and other franchise locations, while no compulsory redundancies would result.

Full-time staff at Fox Hill, he added, will either be given the choice of accepting the Voluntary Separation Packages offered by BTC two years ago post-privatisation, or would be absorbed into the business elsewhere.

Part-timers, meanwhile, will be given the option of working for BTC’s franchisees.

Mr Gibson, meanwhile, said BTC was looking to add another two-three franchise stores in Grand Bahama.

The carrier’s investment in the nationwide roll-out was set to total $2.5-$3 million, he added, with “the big chunk of that” coming in 2013.

Mr Gibson estimated that 200 direct jobs would be created by BTC’s franchise initiative, with another 200 construction and ancillary services jobs created during the process.

The Prince Charles store, owned by BFG Services Ltd, will be one of the largest in the franchise network, standing at 1,100 square feet. BTC’s investment in the store totals $110,000.

The Soldier Road franchise, owned by Trevor Wright, will be open seven days a week, while the Prince Charles location - adjacent to a Cash N Go/Bill Express outlet - will be open six days per week.

Mr Gibson said BFG Services’ concept was to “marry” both retail concepts, as there were “obvious synergies for both sides”.