OD Brisbane & Sons (Trading) Ltd. has been operating for the past 50 years in St. Kitts & Nevis.

The first of many OD Brisbane companies in the Eastern Caribbean was founded in St. Vincent in 1918 by Owen Douglas Brisbane. This company started out trading in stationery, stamps, apparel, agricultural produce and as an indent and commission agency and soon added insurance and shipping to its portfolio. Branches of OD Brisbane & Sons were soon opened in Grenada, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and St. Kitts.

When OD Brisbane opened in St. Kitts 50 years ago, it was Charles Brisbane, the fourth child of Owen Douglas Brisbane who was responsible for establishing and managing the St. Kitts & Nevis branch of his father’s expanding business. OD Brisbane’s main source of income at this time was derived from the business of requisitioning goods by indent orders directly from foreign manufacturers on behalf of local merchants. Brands like Carnation, Bermudez biscuits and Clorox bleach were just a few of the product lines that found their way into St. Kitts through this fledgling company.

The early 1970’s saw the Brisbane enterprise in St. Kitts expanding into direct importation and wholesaling of goods. The premises also expanded and new warehousing facilities were acquired. In 1980, the sole proprietorship was incorporated as a limited liability company, preparing it to undertake even greater challenges in a changing and increasingly competitive world of trade and marketing.

In view of the continued expansion through the acquisition of new contracts to represent an increasing number and diversity of brands, the operation soon outgrew the confines of downtown Basseterre. In 1989, the company was relocated to the new Ponds Industrial Estate, since renamed the C.A. Paul Southwell Industrial Estate. The enterprise now occupies 33,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and administrative space.

As a business, OD Brisbane continues to expand to meet the needs of a maturing society and since its move to the industrial estate, the OD Brisbane complex has almost tripled in size, staff and scope of product range. The company markets and sells Grace products, Chief Brand products, Gillette, Diguez, Bermudez, Clorox Bleach, Listerine and Smirnoff Vodka, among others.

Goddard Enterprises Ltd. purchased a majority of shareholding in the business in 2002 and obtained 100% shareholding in 2004.