Melcom
{{Short description|Supermarket chain in Ghana}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Melcom Group of Companies
| logo = Melcom logo.jpg
| logo_size = 250px
| type = Private ownership
| traded_as = Melcom Group
| founder = Bhagwan Khubchandani
| area_served = {{nowrap| Ghana}}
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|Bhagwan Khubchandani (Group Chairman)|Mahesh Melwani (Joint-Group Managing Director)|Ramesh Sadhwani (Joint-Group Managing Director)|Sonya Sadhwani (Director of Brand Management)}}
| industry = Retailing
| products = Supermarket
Hypermarket
Superstore
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| assets =
| equity =
| num_employees =
| divisions =
| subsid = Melcom Stores Ltd.
Century Industries Ltd.
Crown Star Electronics Industry Ltd.
Melcom Hospitality
Melcom Travels
Melcom Care
| footnotes =
| intl =
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1989}}
| location = 2nd Palace Link Road,
Off Dadeban Road, North Industrial Area
P.O. Box 3920, Accra, Ghana
| locations = 42+ stores (as of June 2019)
| shares_in_issue =
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.melcomgroup.com/}}
}}
Melcom is a supermarket chain consisting of 65 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaafricaconnect.in/index.php?param=news/3294/ |title=Welcome To India Africa Connect - - Indian migrant to Ghana now retail chain magnate |publisher=Indiaafricaconnect.in |date= |accessdate=2013-10-04}} Melcom Group of Companies is a family business.
The Melcom Group of Companies consists of six separate entities: Melcom Limited, Century Industries Limited, Crownstar Electronic Industries Limited, Melcom Hospitality, Melcom Travels, and Melcom Care. Aside from conquering an extensive retail market share with a network of more than 60 retail outlets spread all over Ghana (Melcom Limited), the Group is well-diversified into other businesses.[http://www.melcomgroup.com/index_2.html/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605030830/http://www.melcomgroup.com/index_2.html/|date=June 5, 2012}}
Melcom Group is best known for its shopping mall, Melcom Limited. As Ghana’s largest chain of retail department stores, Melcom offers thousands of products and hundreds of well known brands.
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.{{cite web|url=http://graphic.com.gh/General-News/melcom-disaster-death-toll-now-14.html/ |title=Melcom disaster death toll now 14 | General News |publisher=Graphic.com.gh |date=2012-11-11 |accessdate=2013-10-04}}
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.[https://news.yahoo.com/more-people-trapped-under-ghana-mall-rubble-first-104831868.html/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115053615/http://news.yahoo.com/more-people-trapped-under-ghana-mall-rubble-first-104831868.html/|date=November 15, 2012}}{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.viasat1.com.gh/v1/vnews/local.php?postId=1064/ |title=Achimota Melcom building collapses, many feared dead - Viasat1 Local News |publisher=Viasat1.com.gh |date=2012-11-07 |accessdate=2013-10-04}}{{cite web|author= |url=https://news.yahoo.com/eyewitness-shopping-center-collapses-ghana-132344904.html |title=Eyewitness: New shopping center collapses in Ghana - Yahoo News |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=2012-11-07 |accessdate=2013-10-04}} Reports suggested that the building had structural defects owing to lack of adherence to building codes and use of improper materials.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20250494/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108191201/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20250494/|date=November 8, 2012}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.myradiogoldlive.com/index.php/business/1486-another-melcom-shop-suffers-devastation/ |title=Another disaster hits Melcom as fire razes down Swedru branch |publisher=Myradiogoldlive.com |date=2012-12-23 |accessdate=2013-10-04}}