Curacao (pronounced Koo-ra-sao), formerly La Curacao, is a large-format retail store chain and finance company with export, travel and money transfer services. Founded in 1978, Curacao is headquartered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with retail locations in California, Arizona and Nevada.

Services

Curacao serves a diverse array of customers. A large percentage of its credit card holders include

Hispanic and Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

consumers. Every store features English/Spanish-language advertisements and bilingual salesclerks. Curacao sells most of its merchandise on credit, and has opened accounts for over two million private label cardholders. The company's services also include Curacao Travel, Curacao Money Transfer, and Curacao Export. The company's mission is said to be to improve people’s lives by providing them access to products and services using Curacao’s proprietary credit while supporting the communities it serves. In 2002, the Curacao Foundation was established with programs focused on providing home goods, free services, financial, health and immigration education and resources. Curacao Department Store

History

Founding

Curacao began as a consumer-product door-to-door sales company, in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It became popular among the Latino community who did not have access to credit. Salesmen allowed customers to buy their goods by placing a down payment and then returning to the customer's residence to collect payments on a regular basis. This service eventually evolved into Curacao's proprietary credit business.

Expansion

In 1983, La Curacao moved to the

Pico-Union Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to ...

district in Los Angeles. By 1984, it had opened its export division, which allowed customers to shop for goods and have them shipped to their families in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. During the Los Angeles Riots in 1992, the original store was burned down and its inventory destroyed. Two weeks later, the business reopened at its flagship location of 1605 W. Olympic Blvd. In 1995, La Curacao opened its second store, in the

Panorama City Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born ...

district of the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

. Inside the

Panorama Mall Panorama Mall is a mall in Panorama City, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California. It is an enclosed mall anchored by two large discount stores, Walmart and Curacao, aimed primarily at a Hispanic customer base. The mall originally opened as ...

, the new store featured

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

n style decor and child care. The company also purchased the office tower at 1605 West Olympic Boulevard, now the La Curacao Business Center, where its headquarters are now situated. By 2007, the Curacao stores had ten locations in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

, with nine stores in California and two in Arizona. In 2012, La Curacao was renamed Curacao, undergoing complete rebranding to cater to the second and third generation millennial Latino consumer. Curacao currently has locations in Los Angeles, Panorama City, South Gate,

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside the ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

, Lynwood, Santa Ana, Chino,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and Northridge.

Initiatives

The retailer is looking to continue adding new store locations across California and expand to more U.S. states by 2022.

Export

Export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

is one of Curacao's services. Customers can purchase a product in the United States and have it delivered to countries in

and

. The company has its own warehouses and distribution centers in Mexico and Central America and operates a home-delivery program.

Travel

Curacao’s Travel agency books over 20,000 trips a year on their proprietary credit card for services ranging from airline tickets, hotels, travel packages and cruises to specialized tours and entertainment venues.

Money Transfer

Curacao’s Money Transfer affiliate makes it possible for customers to send over 175,000 international money transfers per year, on credit, by visiting Curacao stores or using the Curacao Money Transfer app.

References

Consumer electronics retailers in the United States Furniture retailers of the United States Retail companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles American companies established in 1978 Retail companies established in 1978 1978 establishments in California {{History of Retail in Southern California