Top 10 Costa Rica

Fifth PriceSmart in Costa Rica sets up shop

The city of Alajuela, northwest of San José, has become the fifth Costa Rica home of a PriceSmart warehouse shopping club.

The warehouse, across from the Mutual Alajuela headquarters and the entrance to Barrio La Trinidad, raises to 26 the number of PriceSmart membership shopping clubs worldwide. The company has warehouses in a total of 12 countries, including Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and countries across the Caribbean.

Recession does not seem to be deterring PriceSmart buyers; in fact, the opposite appears to be true. The company announced a 34 percent increase in sales profit for the U.S. fiscal second quarter, according to Forbes.com.

We have better prices and special packaging, which is very good for savings, said PriceSmart’s Costa Rica marketing manager, Carla Chaves, who pointed out that the club’s shoppers purchase products in three, four and six packs.

The 5,000 square meter Alajuela warehouse, which opened doors Friday, cost about $14 million to build and is creating 120 new jobs in the area, according to a company press release.