After more than a decade on Tucson’s south side, Curacao has new digs. The chain store has moved to the Tucson Mall, taking over the old Forever 21 space.
This space is larger than the 80,000 square feet of the old place, and it has one other significant difference: it is two stories. Furnishings occupy the second story.
According to manager Alison Gaxiola, the grand opening will be Saturday, Oct. 5. She said Curacao is looking forward to filling the needs of Tucson’s residents, which is exactly why the store moved across town.
“It’s a more convenient location,” she said. “It’s a mall. There’s going to be a lot more visibility and more convenience for customers. Most people are already here doing their shopping so you might as well go to Curacao since you’re already here.”
Curacao’s new location will benefit customers as well as the mall, as filling that Forever 21 space will be a boon to the mall.
“We look forward to welcoming Curacao to Tucson Mall,” Jeff Berger, senior manager of the mall, said. “We believe they will be an excellent addition and complement our current local, regional and national retailer lineup.”
Curacao features a number of brand-name products in an assortment of categories, including large and small appliances, designer goods such as handbags, sunglasses, gold jewelry and scents, outdoor and indoor furniture, and electronics, including televisions, computers, cell phones and cameras. They even sell makeup. This is only a small list of what Curacao carries.
“We want to stay competitive, so we want to make sure that we have more than what everybody else has to offer,” Gaxiola said.
One of their biggest sellers are Apple products.
Curacao offers an incentive to shop there with its Price Beat Guarantee policy. If a customer sees an ad online or printed, they may show that ad to the store staff and receive the item at 10% below the advertised price. However, it must be the same item.
“A way for us to stay competitive is we want to make sure that customers know we have the best interest rates and prices,” she said. “We want to make sure they don’t find a reason to go anywhere else.”
There are restrictions, so check Curacao’s website.
Curacao does offer its own credit cards, but they don’t work like traditional cards.
“We have our own in-house financing,” Gaxiola said. “So, we have a way to look at our credit applications and look beyond the credit score where we can give our customers a chance to see what we can do for them. Our approval rates are way higher than they are in most places.”
People with no credit history or those who may have had some trouble with credit will be considered at Curacao.
“Many people have challenging credit so we will analyze that … to see what we can do,” she added.
In addition to what’s available in the retail space, Curacao also offers a way to deliver these goods to family members and friends who live outside the United States. With the Curacao Export program, customers may buy merchandise from a specialty catalog here and have it shipped to someone in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Does your mom need a new refrigerator? You can order one for her. Does your kid brother want a motorcycle? You can get one of those, too. It should be noted, however, that not all goods can go to all countries. For example, computers cannot be shipped to Nicaragua, while televisions can make the journey.
Still, “it’s exciting for us,” Gaxiola said, because the program was not offered at the other store. “It’s convenient because many of the customers have the credit here… ‘while I’m paying for it I’m just going to ship it to my family member.’”
Find the catalog here: export.icuracao.com
The program has been successful in other Curacao locations in California. Mostly what they see going out is furniture, appliances for the home, televisions, that sort of thing.
“Everything for the home, you’re going to see all of that go out,” Gaxiola said.
In fact, you can get money transfers there, too.
Curacao has a charity arm in the Curacao Foundation, which was established in 2002. Gaxiola said that the company’s 12 stores have worked with more than 100 charitable organizations, and she expects Tucson’s Curacao to participate as well.
“We like to be involved with the community so we always want to make sure that we are there for our people,” Gaxiola said. “We focus a lot on health, well-being, education and immigration.”
While the store targets the Latinx community, it is open to all.
“Anybody can shop there,” she said. “We serve every single customer that’s looking for great value, accessible prices and a personal shopping experience.”
Curacao
Tucson Mall
4500 N. Oracle Road, Tucson
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday through Thursday
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
icuracao.com
