“One could opt to wait for the economic change to come first, but we chose to be part of the change and invest in our own economy now, to be able to elevate the growth rate when it starts picking up.”
Kooyman’s Latest Expansion:
What is Their Formula for Success?
In celebration of the big reveal of the new Kooyman Megastore at Jan Noorduynweg, which opened in November 2017, we sat down with Kooyman’s CEO, Herbert van der Woude to get the inside scoop on the company’s journey to success. TEXT BY KORRA PIETERSZ-JULIANA
How did the idea to open a new store at Jan Noorduynweg originate?
We knew since about the year 2000 that there would be increased construction in the Banda Bou area, so in 2006 we sent our request to Mr. Cooper who was Deputy at the time, so we could apply for a land lease. Because of the economic situation in 2008 to 2009, we decided to put a hold on our plans and re-initiated the project in 2011. But it was not until 2015 that we were finally able to finalize our plans. Unfortunately obtaining the building permit took much longer than expected, but we were finally able to start with construction at end of 2016.
Although Curacao is still facing economically challenging times, your company still opted to go big. Why? Yes, from the beginning the Kooyman family was adamant that we would either go big or not do it at all. We know it’s a big risk especially as
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we don’t predict much growth in our economy in the short term. One could opt to wait for the economic change to come first, but we opted to be part of the change and invest in our own economy now to be able to elevate the growth rate when it starts picking up. We never considered going smaller - we want to continue to be leaders and not followers. Starting small would give our competitors the chance to gain a competitive advantage. So, our stand has always been: either we don’t expand or if we do, we do it well. And in our case, that means going for another Megastore. This is one of the advantages of being a family business. We can make these bold decisions and stand 100% behind it as we are not afraid to take long-term risks. Another one of our beliefs is in working together. Since 2006 we’ve been talking to La Curacao and Caribbean Motors which were both looking to expand their store and
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showroom locations respectively, in the area. We knew that by joining forces and building adjacent to one another we could create more traffic to our establishments. This is unique as most companies on the island are not used to joining forces in order to grow together. But we at Kooyman are avid believers in collaboration and supporting one another.
Some believe that this market is too small for so many large building stores. What’s your stand of this?
We are aware that in the beginning we will definitely compete with ourselves. We estimate that 10% to 15% of our Zeelandia customers will shift to Jan Noorduynweg. But this doesn’t scare us. We believe that the market will eventually expand further, with all the construction that is occurring, and in particular the new projects that are carded for that side of the island. So it is just a matter of time.
What is the concept of the new store?
The Megastore concept works really well so we decided to duplicate this concept at our new location. It was not possible to do this at the old Santa Maria location because of the lack of space for a Megastore and a larger parking lot. But at the new location we have plenty of space.
