Melcom

Melcom Group

Type	Private ownership
Traded as	MCG
Industry	Retailing
Founded	1989
Founder	Bhagwan Khubchandani
Headquarters	Kumasi Accra Sekondi-Takoradi Sunyani Koforidua Cape Coast Ashanti region
Number of locations	33 stores (as of January 2016)
Area served	Ashantiland
Key people	Bhagwan Khubchandani (Group Chairman) Mahesh Melwani (Group Managing Director) Ramesh Sadhwani (Joint-Group Managing Director) Sonya Sadhwani (Director of Brand Management)
Products	Supermarket Hypermarket Superstore
Subsidiaries	Melcom Stores Ltd. Century Industries Ltd. Crown Star Electronics Industry Ltd. Melcom Hospitality Melcom Travel & Tours Melcom Care
Website	www.melcomgroup.com/homepage/

Melcom is a supermarket chain consisting of 33 shops spread all over Ghana It was started in 1989 by Indian magnate Bhagwan Khubchandani. His late father, Ramchand Khubchandani, had arrived in the then Gold Coast in 1929 as a 14-year-old to work as a store boy.^[1]

Melcom consists of four companies under the Melcom brand name.^[2]

History

Disasters in 2012

In 2012 Melcom suffered two major accidents. On 7 November 2012, Ghana suffered a major accident when Melcom's five story shopping mall at Achimota near Accra,Ghana collapsed, trapping many people inside. The NADMO organized a rescue mission. 82 people in all, including 14 dead, were pulled out of the rubble.^[3]

Melcom had been operating in the building, which it said it had rented, only since January 2012. The NADMO promised an investigation to find out the cause of the collapse.^[4][5][6] Reports suggested that the building had structural defects owing to lack of adherence to building codes and use of improper materials.^[7]

On December 22, 2012, Melcom suffered another major accident when its mall in Agona Swedru in the Central Region of Ghana was totally burnt down by fire and attended to by the GNFRS. Because the fire occurred after close of work, there were no casualties. However, adjoining warehouses stocked with items for Christmas were also burnt down.^[8]

See also

• Palace Stores

References

1. "Welcome To India Africa Connect - - Indian migrant to Ghana now retail chain magnate". Indiaafricaconnect.in. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
2. Archived June 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Melcom disaster death toll now 14 | General News". Graphic.com.gh. 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
4. Archived November 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
5. "Achimota Melcom building collapses, many feared dead - Viasat1 Local News". Viasat1.com.gh. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
6. "Eyewitness: New shopping center collapses in Ghana - Yahoo News". News.yahoo.com. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
7. Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
8. "Another disaster hits Melcom as fire razes down Swedru branch". Myradiogoldlive.com. 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2013-10-04.