If you've been on the Northern Highway, chances are you've seen the new Brodies Superstore. It will be officially opened tomorrow. It's a new look and a new strategy for one of the oldest stores in Belize and Keith Swift found out if what's new for Brodies always means better for Belize.

Keith Swift Reporting,
This is what inside the new Brodies Superstore looks like. It is 40,0000 thousand square feet of just about everything money can buy - which will fit in a shopping cart. It has fresh produce, fresh meats - prepared in the store's ultra modern butchery department by master butcher Floyd Lino. Or even better than raw meat is fresh food - cooked in the store's kitchen. And that's not even half of the Superstore - there is still clothing, footwear, groceries, and hardware. Brodies' director Curtis Musa says it is truly a one-stop shop.

Keith Swift,
What does this store have that other supermarkets don't?

Curtis Musa, Director - Brodies
"Well this store has a new addition to it which is the deli department where you can come in and sit down and have a nice prepared meal. You can have snacks. You can have a super sub sandwich, beverage of your choice. Then also we have a very expanded produce department where we stock our shelves with fresh produce daily. We also have a fresh meat department where we have professional butchers preparing the cuts daily to put on the shelves. We have a department store area which is a new area where you can come in and get a variety of merchandise, namely men, women, and children clothing and shoes, house hold items, giftware items. We also have a pharmacy department where you can come in and fill your prescription and you have professional pharmacists to give advice."

But will a Superstore mean super prices? Musa says no.

Curtis Musa,
"Our prices are affordable. All our Brodies outlets carry the same price so we try to mantian same prices throughout."

And the shoppers we met today weren't complaining. Most told me they enjoy the ambience and convenience of the store - even if it'll cost them a little extra.

Shopper #1: It is good to shop here…it is convenient - everything you can get at one place.

Shopper #2: What I think of the new store? I think it is great for Belize. We need this kind of shopping here…you have more variety to shop.

Shopper #3: This is my first time visiting Belize in five years and Brodies is really excellent. We have been coming here for breakfast and having a good time just looking at everything that we used to buy when I was a little girl.

Shopper #4: Everything is here…well right now I only came to look…the prices are affordable if you want to spend.

And that's what Brodies' managing director Billy Musa hopes shoppers will do. The new store is a 10 million dollar investment. He says it was needed.

Edward 'Billy' Musa, Managing Director
"The shoppers started complaining that they couldn't get everything so they had to go downtown to the other Brodies to pick up what they couldn't get here. So we decided to give them what they requested - a superstore, something they would be proud of and that they won't have to go anywhere else to do their shopping, they could find everything here."

But is 40,000 square feet of items on sale a good thing? Isn't it promoting consumerism?

Edward 'Billy' Musa,
"We are not forcing anybody to shop but we offer the convenience."

Keith Swift,
Won't this contribute to the balance of payments deficit?

Edward 'Billy' Musa,
"Well isn't it better they shop in Belize than go to Chetumal and shop, shopping."

The store has a secured parking lot for 100 vehicles.