By JULIE ANNE INES
Los Angeles-based La Curacao, a sort of Kmart for Hispanic shoppers, is set to open its first Orange County store in Fountain Valley in early September.
In fact, La Curacao’s 105,000-square-foot store on Harbor Boulevard is taking the place of a former Big Kmart that closed in 2002.
The area’s growing number of Hispanics and the store’s location on the border with Santa Ana,the county’s Latino hub,make it “great for the business,” said Mike Falkenstein, La Curacao’s vice president of retail development.
The company expects the store to do “very, very well,” Falkenstein said, on par with its flagship store near downtown Los Angeles.
Upgrades to the store are under way. The company and the building’s landlord are spending an estimated $5 million to $10 million to fix up the site.
La Curacao officials are working on advertising plans and a grand opening two months from now, Falkenstein said. The company plans to advertise on TV, radio and via direct mail, he said.
The retailer, which does about $250 million in yearly sales, is a hit with Hispanics. An unlikely pair of founders, Israeli immigrants Jerry and Ron Azarkman, started the chain in 1981.
Last year, the venture capital arm of Citigroup Inc. took a 10% stake in La Curacao’s parent company, Adir International, as a way to tap the growing Hispanic retail sector.
For more on this story, see the July 17 edition of the Business Journal.
