WILLEMSTAD – International fashion giant ZARA officially opened its new store at Sambil Curaçao today, September 10, marking the arrival of one of the world’s best-known fashion retailers on the island and what Sambil executives describe as a major milestone for Curaçao’s retail sector.
The opening brings a brand belonging to Spanish fashion group Inditex to Curaçao after years of efforts by Sambil to secure the retailer. ZARA already has a presence in Aruba, and Sambil executives believe Curaçao’s growing economy and tourism industry helped strengthen the case for opening a store on the island.
Jonathan Cohen expressed pride in the finished store, saying the quality and specifications are comparable to ZARA locations in major international markets.
“My first impression is that the store has an impressive level of finishing,” Cohen told Curaçao Chronicle. He said the ZARA team gave the project “10 out of 10” and stressed that the Curaçao location was developed according to the retailer’s highest international standards.
According to Cohen, the importance of the opening extends beyond Sambil itself. He described it as another indication that Curaçao can compete internationally, pointing to the island’s economic recovery, expanding hotel sector, tourism growth and achievements on the international sporting stage.
“Today we are happy to add another star, another contribution from Sambil to Curaçao, so that Curaçao now has the number one store in the world called ZARA,” Cohen said.
Alfredo Cohen, Director of Constructora Cohen, said bringing ZARA to Curaçao was the result of a long process rather than a sudden development. Space had been reserved for the retailer for years, but the company had not previously been ready to enter the Curaçao market.
Cohen said the group’s longstanding relationship with Inditex, including its business relationship with the company in Venezuela, helped eventually convince the retailer to consider Curaçao.
“They are our clients in Venezuela, and now they became interested in opening in Curaçao,” Alfredo Cohen said. “They are already open in Aruba and understood that Curaçao is also an interesting market for them.”
He expects ZARA to significantly increase visitor traffic at Sambil and create a spillover effect for other businesses in the shopping center.
“ZARA is not Sambil’s; ZARA belongs to Curaçao,” Cohen said, arguing that the presence of such an internationally recognized retailer gives the island another attraction compared with competing Caribbean destinations.
He believes the store could also contribute to Curaçao’s shopping tourism, with visitors combining vacations on the island with retail spending.
“The fact that we have ZARA is going to strengthen tourism and shopping tourism, in my opinion,” Cohen said. “The neighboring stores will obviously benefit from the traffic because nobody wants to come and shop at ZARA and not buy something else at another store.”
Jonathan Cohen similarly sees the arrival of ZARA as a challenge for other retailers at Sambil to raise their standards.
“ZARA means a challenge because we all have to level up,” he said. “We all have to reach the point where we operate and work at an international level.”
According to Cohen, Sambil is already in contact with additional brands interested in the Curaçao market, raising the possibility that the arrival of ZARA could be followed by more international retailers.
For Sambil Curaçao, the opening represents more than adding another tenant. The Cohen family sees ZARA as an anchor capable of increasing traffic throughout the mall, strengthening Curaçao’s position as a regional shopping destination and encouraging existing retailers to compete at a higher level.
With its doors now open, the impact will ultimately be measured by whether ZARA can generate the additional consumer traffic and international retail interest that Sambil expects. For the mall’s leadership, however, September 10 marks a significant step in positioning Curaçao alongside Caribbean markets capable of attracting some of the world’s biggest retail brands.