JTA Supermarkets Limited is a chain of five supermarkets in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

History

JTA Supermarkets began as J. T. Allum and Company Limited, a

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

store at 100 High Street,

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

which was established in 1943. The store was owned by John Thomas Allum and managed by Carlton K. Mack, a distant relative of Allum who had immigrated to Trinidad and Tobago from China. In 1955 Mack entered an arrangement to purchase the company from the Allum family over the course of ten years. Eric Allum Poon remained chairman until his death in 1961. Mack became the chairman in 1961. In 1948 the company opened its first supermarket, in

Couva Couva is an urban town (48,858 in 2011 census) in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tab ...

followed by its second at Allum’s Shopping Centre in

Marabella Marabella is a former town in southern Trinidad, between San Fernando (to the south) and Pointe-à-Pierre (to the north). Early 19th-century maps highlighted it as Marabella Junction because of the railway intersection to Williamsville and other ...

. In 1964 a third supermarket was opened in Carlton Centre, San Fernando, which was then the country's largest

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

. In 1976 a fourth Allum's Supermarket was opened in the newly built Cross Crossing Shopping Complex, also in San Fernando. The Couva store relocated to the Couva Shopping Complex in 1981. Allum's Supermarkets were sold to the McEnearney Alstons conglomerate in 1978; J. T. Allum and Company remained the property owner and landlord. In 1988 J. T. Allum and Company and McEnearney Alstons were unable to come to an agreement to continue the arrangement, and the supermarkets were returned to the control of the Mack family and rebranded as JTA Supermarkets.

Operations

JTA has shops in Carlton Centre, Cross Crossing,

, Corinth and

, each of 20,000–30,000 square feet.About Us.
JTA Supermarkets. Retrieved 7 June 2015. The 650,000 square feet C3 Centre

is amongst the largest in the region and the stores within it include a 50,000 square feet branch of JTA Supermarkets which opened in 2016.

References

{{Reflist Supermarkets of Trinidad and Tobago Retail companies established in 1943 1940s establishments in Trinidad and Tobago