The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

RUBIS is set to complete its aggressive $1.3 million network re-branding in the Bahamas by year’s end, a company executive said yesterday, as it moves to tie-up some “loose ends” in the Family Islands.
 Byron Ferguson, RUBIS’ sales and marketing manager for the western Caribbean, said: “The re-brand is nearly complete. There are just some minor things to be done. The bulk of it has been done and it went extremely well.

“We were able to introduce the new RUBIS brand. All indicators are that the brand was well received. It’s been a smooth transition and it is still ongoing. There is still a lot more work to do to solidify the brand in the consumers’ mind here in the Bahamas. We have a promotion going on at Christmas, and that activity will continue into 2014 to continue to build some brand equity.”
 Mr Ferguson added: “The Bahamas is just about complete. I think it’s just Eleuthera now where we have some work to do, and some finish-up work in Abaco. We just have some loose ends to tie-up in the Family Islands.

“The major part of it is done. We were able to complete on schedule as planned. There were some challenges along the way, but we were able to get over those hurdles.”
 RUBIS’ rebranding of the former Texaco stations began in late September. These locations come with a number of new features that includes a ‘pay at the pump’ service, laser car-wash, UltraTec unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel and Total-branded lubricants. Rubis is the exclusive distributor of Total lubricants.

RUBIS entered the Bahamian market in mid-2012 after Chevron sold its fuels, marketing and aviation businesses in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos to Vitogaz, the former’s wholly-owned subsidiary.

With its takeover from Chevron, the French multinational energy company has gained ownership of 39 retail stations, eight aviation facilities, six fuel terminals and one joint operation at the Nassau airport terminal, plus a commercial and industrial fuels business.

These assets are in addition to Texaco’s previously announced sale in the Caribbean and parts of Central America to RUBIS in July 2011, which consisted of 174 service stations operating under the Texaco brand, an equity interest in an associated refinery operation, proprietary and joint-venture terminals and aviation facilities, plus Chevron’s commercial and industrial fuels business.
 The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands comprise the Western Caribbean territory for RUBIS.

“The rebranding will continue in 2014 in Jamaica. By mid-2014 we would complete the 50-plus stations in Jamaica. It’s a continuous process to put the RUBIS footprint across the entire Caribbean,” said Mr Ferguson.