I suspect, that he will be only one of many to be leaving The Bahamas in the coming years.
Sensible Bahamians will top the list, as they will understand before most, the direction this country is headed.
Ask yourselves who will be left.
Will it be the job creators?
I highly doubt it.

"Mr Ingraham, in an unusual move for a prime minister, said of Mr Schaefer: “It is most regrettable that such a person has been allowed to have that type of business in the country. He is not a good person for the Bahamas.”
Not at all unusual for Mr. Ingraham, as one targeted by him can attest.
Apparently very thin skinned.
As to Mr. Sheafer, the Bahamas has seen many "colorful Entrepreneurs" over the last century, few of whom last long. Upsetting the existing apple cart never bodes well for the interloper.
That will happen in any case soon enough.

The retail format Shaefer was trying to implement in the Bahamas could not work for several reasons. First of all The Bahamas is too small to generate the type of sales these type operations need to realize a profit. Secondly because the high shipping costs and front loaded customs duties makes the cost of inventory extremely expensive compared to a store operating in the US. So inventory loss/shrinkage due to theft, damaged or misplaced items is also very high and while it should be at 5%, once it exceeds 10% then those losses are not recovered. Then the general overhead costs for businesses are very high and if the turnover is not sufficient to cover them the business will be like a car stuck in sand. Spinning tires but not going anywhere. And while the government would have one believe there is no impact of VAT on business, there is a 15% at least increase in the cost of goods sold, because businesses must pay the VAT at the boarder. In fact many businesses, after three years, are still trying to find their break even point and trying to return to profitability after the VAT was introduced. Super value has had several price increases over the years. But with there being no real growth in the economy in the 7.5% vat tax was actual a drain and resulted in a 10-15% decrease in sales for many stores.

Super Value has shifted there general markup nearly 10% since the introduction of VAT...the cost of doing business here is extreme. Schaefer was known to 'reprice' items through a third party stateside for import, essentially falsifying invoices. Robin Hood essentially dissolved as this link was being revealed. His one key was he had political connections and investigations were held at bay for as long as possible.

This repricing of invoices is an interesting phenomenon. I've seen it work the other way. Bahamian businessmen would set up a flow-thru corporation in Florida, have proxies operate it, but they were the beneficial owners. The corporation would be involved in import/export. It would buy the goods required, mark them up and ship them to the Bahamas. The invoices would be paid with Central Bank approval and the difference between the price and the invoice price is how Bahamian business men got a stash of US dollars outside the country. It is their lifeboat if all goes to hell here.

That does not seem sensible at all. if they marked the invoices "UP" it would mean they would have to pay more customs duties and stamp/vat tax. meaning the government would be getting duty of every additional dollar they paid out. Would be cheaper to just apply for a permit to invest overseas

SANDY WAS ALWAYS FAIR IN MY DEALINGS WITH HIM. SORRY TO SEE HIM GO. GOOD LUCK TO HIM AND HIS FAMILY.

True dat. Always liked the man.

His PLP gone now he mad.

Valuable collector's item for sale. Never been worn. Will become historic collectible. Act now. Between 10-50% off. Everything must go!

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2017…

Sounds like the Bay Street Boys (mercantile elite) finally beat this upstart foreigner into submission ....... smh ........ Will be interesting when Walmart applies to open a store in Nassau

Walmart's setup and brands are already present at Solomons...

Walmart is smarter than that!

The problem is too much wealth is already being transferred to foreigners by virtue of government's economic policy. Government, over the years, favored and supported foreign investors over Bahamians, so much so that even the white Bahamians are starting to complain. Not necessarily that the foreigner has a better business plan but because he gets so much more concessions and tax breaks from government that his business is more successful, but on the backs of Bahamian taxpayers. And so if you add up the net worth of the top 20 foreign companies (not even including banks), they are worth more than all the Bahamian businesses combined. Doesn't that make you proud? now add the value of foreign banks. And while foreign businesses should continue to be welcome to do business here,in the Bahama,s government must now extend its policy to advance concessions to Bahamians. And in case you don't know it, many of the superpowers, the US and China, especially are in a race to own up (ok hog up) and control as many assets in The Bahamas, The Caribbean, Africa and central and South America as possible.

Oftentimes the reason that foreigners get preference, is that it is all due to business conditions. The prime driver of any business is access to capital. Let's suppose that there is a business opportunity that requires $50 million dollars to start -- build the building -- hire the people -- etc etc.

A business will put some skin in the game and go an borrow the rest. In the USA or Canada, they can go to their friendly banker and apply for a business loan. They can also go to their Export Development programmes run by their respective governments for capital. The lenders get a credit report on the business from a credit reporting agency, and make a loan decision. The government programmes for export development often grant credit to companies that are turned down by the banks, because it is development money. If both these agencies turn down the business loan, the business has the additional option of 'selling paper' -- or floating a commercial bond. The interest rate is dependent on how risky it is, but you can always float paper if the interest rate is attractive enough.

Bahamians do not have access to these lines of business capital. We have no internal credit rating agency. Business records are sometimes sketchy and not up to date. Many businesses do not employ BICA accountants, or an accountant with an international certification and designation. Hence we are behind the eight ball in terms of getting capital together to do business. And if we can raise the Bahamian dollars, we must import millions of dollars of goods and services and must pay the Central Bank fees. Hence it costs more to run a business in the Bahamas if you are a Bahamian.

There is something definitely wrong with this picture as it is. This is why I support dollarization of the economy, even though it would initially create economic chaos, and as usual, the poor would suffer the most. But if we want a future as a country, we must swallow some bitter pills.

As Banker correctly points out, it is all about availability and cost of capital. The Government should do a deal with the "numbers boys". 75% of their profits should go into a venture capital fund that invests in Bahamian businesses. Let them run the fund. Let them decide who and what to back, with no governmental interference. But invest they must. The money is still theirs, but help the economy they must. They can liquidate the fund at some specified time in the future, say 20 years. This would do much to alleviate just criticism of their role in society and transform the economy.

Just don't get venture capital/business loans from RBC. They will suck you dry, especially if you fall on hard times and they realize you are struggling to keep your business afloat. Cheaper to just give them the keys at that point.

RBC is a disgrace really, as dysfunctional as the Government.
Perhaps it is contagious.....

What will we all do if RBC pulls out???????? ......... Any suggestions??????

Why can't Bahamian entrepreneurs do what RBC is doing?

You guys speak about the lack of access to risk capital as if it is merely an inconvenience. Proper functioning financial and market institutions that promote transparent access to capital, investments in physical infrastructure, technology and innovation are some of the primary drivers of aggregate supply in an economy which in turn drives the capacity and limits of GDP growth. This is a structural weakness in our economy and the primary reason why we have historically relied on FDI to finance GDP growth is that we lack the wherewithal and courage to confront and address the root cause of this structural weakness.