Leading Fijian domestic and duty free retailer Prouds’ two-year anniversary celebrations at Jackson International Airport in Papua New Guinea were soured last month when a ‘raging fire’ totally destroyed its warehouse at the CPL Group head office in Port Moresby.

The company’s mixed emotions of both pride and disappointment come after a 24-month period which it describes mostly as both ‘very exciting and challenging’, according to Prouds’ Papua New Guinea Manager, Kiran Rathod.

This follows the opening of the retailer’s duty free departure and arrivals operation at Jackson International, which is also known as Port Moresby Airport in Papua New Guinea.

Prouds PNG Manager Kiran Rathod (centre) poses with staff members to celebrate the second anniversary at Jackson International Airport.

TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY….

The company’s airport stores were opened in an official ceremony by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill back in July 2015, to coincide with the opening of the Pacific Games which PNG hosted, which Rathod acknowledges was ‘a really great way to start business in the fastest growing Pacific nation’.

However, Prouds admits that it is still trying to come to terms with last month’s raging fire which completely destroyed the company’s warehouse and all of the stock located at the CPL Group head office building in Gerehu in Port Moresby.

It says that the fire apparently started at around 10pm on Sunday June 18 and the negative event has obviously tempered celebrations, as Prouds’ Director Tejash Patel remarked: “While we are happy with our achievements for the past two‐years, this very unfortunate fire incident has yet once again tested our business resilience,” he said.