Crate & Barrel to invest $4 million in its first Costa Rica store

The first Central American location of the U.S. chain of retail stores Crate & Barrel will open in Costa Rica early next year at Avenida Escazú, a business complex west of San José. The opening of the new department store represents a $4 million investment for local franchisee Inversiones CBCR S.A.

The 2,200 square-meter store will employ approximately 40 people, Costa Rica manager Mónica Fonseca said in a news release.

Fonseca said the investor company chose Costa Rica “thanks to its political stability, its workforce availability and the competitiveness of the local market.”

The local store will offer the traditional line of products at its U.S. stores, including housewares and furniture (indoor and out), with specialized kitchen, bathroom, decoration, lighting and bedroom departments.

Within the Tico market, the store will compete directly with stores with a strong local presence such as Euromobilia, Cemaco, Altea and La Artística, among others. The U.S. company opened its first store in December 1962 in Chicago, Illinois, and now has 80 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Its international expansion started in 2008 and is currently targeting Latin American markets through a franchise model that includes stores in Mexico, Peru and Colombia.