Karl H Menzies Closes Its Storefront and Goes Fully Digital
Karl H. Menzies is making the switch to online sales only. The decision to do so comes after five decades of doing business from the company’s storefront on Barrack Road. The announcement was made earlier today and News Five visited Belize On, a subsidiary of Socias Ltd. which operates Karl H. Menzies. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Fifty-three-years after opening its doors to the Belizean public, Karl H. Menzies is shuttering its storefront. The company, famous for paints, spirits, and automotive accessories, is fully embracing the digital era and is fully transitioning to the online marketplace.
Yanik Flowers
Yanik Flowers, Marketing Manager, Belize On
“I think when we think about legacy Belizean companies, the first name that comes to mind is Karl H. Menzies and Karl H. Menzies has been serving the Belizean community proudly for the last fifty-three years in the paint and alcohol industry and this physical closing of our storefront doesn’t represent a closing to us. What it represents is a transformation and a transition into a more digital world.”
In 2019, just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, the management of the company decide that it would venture into online shopping. That idea led to the establishment of Belize On. Yanik Flowers is the marketing manager.
Yanik Flowers
“What a lot of people don’t know is that Karl H. Menzies invested in creating Belize On three years ago and it has grown exponentially to heights that we never thought and so, we have our Belize On online marketplace, our Belize On Dropbox, door-to-door delivery and we also have our crowd favorite, our Belize On the Way food delivery app. So I think, you know, Karl H. Menzies has been very, very busy and it’s been a decision to bring this company to the forefront and we think it’s a decision and a transformation and a disruption that Mr. Menzies would have been very proud to see.”
When Belize On was first introduced to the masses of Belizean shoppers, only five vendors were doing business on the platform. Since then, it has grown exponentially, to include several other offerings, including a delivery service, as well as a restaurant takeout app.
Yanik Flowers
“We have our Belize On e-commerce site and that has grown over the last three years to host over two thousand products with over a hundred local vendors selling those products on the site. We have our Belize On Dropbox which is our door-to-door delivery service and we’ve actually invested in some fleet, a fleet line to really handle our market. So we’re really, really excited about this investment and then, like I said, our crowd favorite is our Belize On the Way food delivery app. Since our inception in March, that has really taken off and we have over eighteen restaurants, all your favorite local restaurants on the site. So we urge everyone to download our Belize On the Way app, urge everyone to go on our e-commerce site, use our Dropbox because this is really a start for Karl H. Menzies and a start for Belize On. What we want people to know is that we are doing a remodeling right now of the iconic 104 Barrack Road location and that will be our new Belize On office and so it’ll even be where people can take their packages to get delivered countrywide. And so, it’s like I said, not a closing but a transformation.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
