private industry retail founded 1978 headquarters los angeles california usa number of locations 11 products consumer electronics toys home appliances furniture jewelry cosmetics number of employees 2180 parent adir international llc website http www.icuracao.com store locator curacao pronounced koo ra sao formerly la curacao is a large format retail department store chain . 1 founded in 1978 curacao is headquartered in los angeles with retail locations in california arizona and nevada . 2 contents 1 services 2 history 2.1 founding 2.2 expansion 3 initiatives 4 export 5 philanthropy 5.1 the la curacao foundation 6 references services edit the company is said to be uniquely positioned to serve hispanic and latino americans . 3 the stores feature spanish language signs and bilingual salesclerks . 4 curacao sells most of its merchandise on credit to over two million private label cardholders . 5 6 the company s services also include curacao travel curacao money transfer pasito internet service provider and curatel long distance calling services . 7 statues of aztec warriors at the entrance of la curacao . history edit founding edit jerry azarkman opened la curacao a consumer product door to door sales company in burbank california . 8 it became popular among hispanic people who did not have access to credit . 5 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 . 9 this service eventually evolved into curacao s credi card business . azarkman s brother ron azarkman joined the company in 1980 . 2 expansion edit in 1983 la curacao moved to the pico union district in los angeles . 8 by 1984 it had opened its export division which allowed customers to shop for goods and have them shipped to their families in mexico and central america . 10 during the los angeles riots in 1992 the store was burned down and its inventory destroyed . two weeks later the business reopened near its previous location . 8 in 1995 la curacao opened its second store in the panorama city district of the san fernando valley . inside the panorama city mall the new store featured mesoamerican 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 . 8 by 2007 the curacao stores had ten locations in the southwestern united states with nine stores in california and two in arizona . 10 in 2012 la curacao was renamed curacao with a new logo . 11 initiatives edit the retailer has expressed plans to further expand into nevada and texas and market toward the english speaking communities as well . 12 export edit export is one of curacao s services . customers can purchase a product in the united states and have it delivered to latin american countries . 12 the company has its own warehouses in mexico and central america and operates a home delivery program . 8 philanthropy edit curacao philanthropies include relief after the 1994 northridge earthquake and an annual children s fair . 13 the la curacao foundation edit the la curacao foundation or fundacion la curacao para los ni os was established in 2002 to provide assistance to needy children by donating basic home products . it also gives to non profit organizations . 11 references edit curacao debuts company transformation . pr newswire . 2012 . retrieved 2012 08 03 . a b company overview of adir international llc . busibessweek.com . retrieved 2014 06 02 . cite error invalid ref tag ; name bloom defined multiple times with different content see the help page . curacao . trend offset printing . 2012 . retrieved 2012 08 03 . crocker h. liu 2008 . location analysis pdf . retrieved 2010 10 12 . a b miriam jordan 2004 . credito hispano . wall street journal . retrieved 2010 05 24 . rick hutton 2012 . rick hutton . trend offset printing . retrieved 2012 08 03 . la curacao services . la curacao . retrieved 2010 05 24 . a b c d e la curacao history . lacuracao.net . retrieved 2010 05 25 . lee romney 2000 11 01 . la curacao a growing family . los angeles times . retrieved 2010 05 26 . a b our history and our awards . curacao . retrieved 2012 08 04 . a b la curacao rebranding . icuracao.com . retrieved 2013 02 05 . cite error invalid ref tag ; name lac pr defined multiple times with different content see the help page . a b russ gager . all in the family . management today . retrieved 2011 01 25 . steve rutledge . childrens hospital los angeles trustees named outstanding philanthropists by the association of fundraising professionals . children s hospital los angeles . retrieved 2011 01 26 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title curacao department store & oldid 743512037 categories consumer electronics retailers in the united statesfurniture retailers of the united statesdepartment stores of the united statescompanies established in 1981companies based in los angeleshidden categories pages with reference errorspages with duplicate reference names navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 00 27 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view