PriceSmart plans Jamaica distribution hub amid expansion to four clubs

Membership warehouse operator PriceSmart Inc intends to establish a distribution centre in Jamaica before its fiscal year closes in August, alongside an expansion that will increase its local club network from two outlets to four.

Chief Executive David Price advised investors during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on July 9 that the Jamaican centre is scheduled for fiscal 2026. PriceSmart is also targeting fiscal 2027 for the opening of another distribution facility in the Dominican Republic.

No details have been released about the Jamaican centre’s proposed site, construction cost, floor space or workforce. The retailer has also not said whether it will manage the operation directly or engage an outside logistics company, with both arrangements already used elsewhere in its network.

In its quarterly submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, PriceSmart said it was strengthening its logistics and distribution system by adding centres operated either internally or by third-party providers.

The Jamaican facility would receive, hold and organise merchandise before sending products to PriceSmart clubs across the country. Its inventory would include locally obtained items as well as imports delivered through the retailer’s regional base in Miami. The operation is designed to lower freight expenses, accelerate deliveries and help clubs maintain adequate stock.

PriceSmart already has distribution facilities in Miami, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Guatemala. During the third quarter, it added Colombia to that list after commencing operations at a new centre in Bogotá. Jamaica would become the next market incorporated into the distribution network.

The logistics project is being pursued while the company moves ahead with two more warehouse clubs in Jamaica.

PriceSmart reported to the SEC that it acquired land during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 for Jamaica’s third club, which will be located in Montego Bay. The outlet is planned for a five-acre parcel and is projected to begin operating in the fall of 2026. The site is roughly 100 miles west of the closest existing PriceSmart club in Kingston.

Development of a fourth club is under way on South Camp Road in Kingston. PriceSmart leased the three-acre property during the same fiscal quarter and expects the location to open in the winter of 2026-27. It will be about six miles from the nearest current Kingston outlet.

Completion of both projects would take PriceSmart’s Jamaican portfolio from two clubs to four. They form part of a wider development pipeline covering six new clubs, with additional locations planned for Costa Rica, Guatemala and Chile. The retailer’s total network would rise from 57 warehouse clubs to 63 after all six openings.

PriceSmart, traded on Nasdaq under the symbol PSMT, recorded third-quarter net merchandise sales of about US$1.5 billion. That represented annual growth of 12.5 per cent. Quarterly net income advanced 12.3 per cent to US$39.7 million, compared with US$35.2 million for the corresponding period a year earlier. Diluted earnings increased from US$1.14 to US$1.28 per share.

Across the first nine months of fiscal 2026, net merchandise sales climbed 11.0 per cent to approximately US$4.3 billion. Net income reached US$128.9 million, an increase of 10.0 per cent from US$116.3 million.

As at May 31, 2026, PriceSmart’s property and equipment were valued at US$1.113 billion, up from US$996.3 million at the close of fiscal 2025. Total assets grew from US$2.27 billion to US$2.52 billion during the same interval.

The company includes Jamaica in its Caribbean reporting segment. It does not publish separate figures for its capital expenditure or financial performance on the island.