What started out as a simple husband and wife operation in 1950 has grown into an enterprise with a staff of around 300 and four locations across Grand Cayman. A. L. Thompson’s began with nothing more than a shipment of lumber: Alfred Lawrence Thompson exchanged his fishing boat for the lumber and began selling it from his yard in South Sound.

Sales went well, and the young entrepreneur began to source other building materials while Corinne, his wife, ran the sales side. When the business outgrew their yard, they relocated to George Town and, in 1967, built their own downtown premises, the Thompson Building, that still stands today.

By the time their children, Alfred and Berna, joined the business some ten years later, the island was starting to develop. Construction of new tourism and business facilities was booming, and A. L. Thompson’s was there to supply many of the materials required.

As George Town evolved into a thriving business hub filled with banks, law firms and accountancy offices, it ceased to be a convenient place for contractors to bring their pick-up trucks and load up with building materials, and so in 1986, the siblings – who were by then running the business – took the decision to move from downtown into what had been their warehouse on North Sound Road.

With more retail space, a large parking area and room for expansion, business boomed – until Hurricane Ivan made landfall in 2004. The category five hurricane destroyed the retail premises and damaged much of the inventory. Despite the devastation, Al, Berna and the staff put their heads down and carried on. Working amid the wreckage, they sold the materials that could be salvaged, helping a desperate community begin to rebuild. However, there was no escaping the truth: the store, too, would have to be rebuilt.

They could not afford to close down for construction, however, and so instead, the new store was built over and around the old one, allowing them to remain open for business and keep their staff employed throughout.

In late 2006, A. L. Thompson’s opened a satellite store in Savannah, and the following year inaugurated the first phase of the George Town store, with the second phase following two years later. The larger premises allowed them to add more products and services: a home fashions gallery, a bath and kitchen gallery, an appliance gallery, restaurant equipment and a garden department.

In 2023, A. L. Thompson’s expanded further. The president was approached by their main on-island competitor, Cox Lumber Ltd., which had two locations in Cayman and several more in Florida, and asked if they would be interested in acquiring the Cayman side of the business. After some months of negotiations, in September 2023, A. L. Thompson’s formally acquired Cox Lumber Ltd., its two locations, its inventory, and its 60 staff.

For the time being, Cox Lumber Ltd. will continue to operate under that name and offer the same steel fabrication and roof truss manufacturing services from Industrial Park. In Bodden Town, they will enhance the retail side to offer greater convenience
for Eastern Districts residents, with more lawn and garden supplies for farmers in the area.