Business View Caribbean | January 2020

20 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN JANUARY 2020 and these tourists, especially people who have timeshares and have been coming to the island for 20 to 30 years. Seven years ago, the company was sold to a Dutch group that purchased the two stores in Curacao and two in Bonaire (rebranded from Albert Heijn to Van Den Tweel), plus Ling & Sons in Aruba. Then in 2018, the business again changed hands and is now owned by a Jamaican company called Van Den Tweel Caribbean Food Group. Each store has its own history and kept its own name. Curacao and Bonaire have more of a Dutch and European market, whereas Aruba has an American-type. So, each store has kept its identity, even though they belong to the same Group. According to Barrientos, “We have invested several million dollars U.S. in a full remodel of Ling & Sons Food Market; changing everything in the store including refrigeration, decoration, lighting, floors, and registers to