CURAÇAO. Powerful regional travel retail player Grupo Britt has been renamed Grupo Arribada. The new holding company integrates two renowned travel retail players, Morpho Travel Experience and Café Britt, along with newer subsidiaries Delika (DCR Gourmet Imports) and Conceptos Gastronómicos.
The Latin American group is privately owned by some 200 shareholders, many of whom currently work for the company. Grupo Arribada has direct investments in 13 countries in the travel retail, coffee and food sectors.
The group had combined revenues of approximately US$225 million in FY 2022, and a planned CAPEX investment for 2023 of US$25 million. It decided to search for a name that could accommodate all the business areas currently operated through four subsidiaries, as well as growth opportunities.
Revenues for 2022 were approximately +26% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels, while EBITDA grew approximately +47% in the same period.
{As reported, Morpho Travel Experience recently unveiled a remodelled flagship store called Rumbo Pura Vida Costa Rica at Costa Rica’s premier travel hub, Juan Santamaría International Airport. Click on the YouTube icon to view}
Arribada is a Spanish word meaning arrival by sea. It refers to the synchronised, large-scale nesting of some species of sea turtle.
In Costa Rica, the leatherback sea turtle (Tortuga Baula) and the green sea turtle (Carey) among others, arrive by the thousands to specific beaches in the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
“It’s one of those awe-inspiring wonders of nature, an event that makes you realise the importance of preserving our natural environment,” said Grupo Arribada Executive Chairman Pablo Vargas.
“Each arribada lasts only three or four days at the most, and a couple of months later there will be a massive hatching of little turtles frenetically moving towards the ocean.”
In addition to the sustainability reference, the name has other connotations. The turtles act in a synchronised way; they might stay for several days in the ocean in front of a beach, then suddenly, there is a trigger and the arribada takes place.
“It’s inspiring for us, because they act harmoniously as a group. Each turtle travels thousands of kilometres to the same beach it once hatched itself, knowing its destination back to a specific beach on the planet, guided by an internal compass,” Vargas commented.
“We as a team and group of companies want to be like that. Such teamwork and focus are especially important when a business goes through the type of accelerated growth our subsidiaries are experiencing this year.” ✈
About Grupo Arribada
Grupo Arribada is a holding company based in Curaçao, that carries out its operations through the following subsidiaries:
Morpho Travel Experience: Dedicated to serving travellers through more than 230 destination shops, cafes, restaurants and other food outlets in airports, parks and resorts.
Café Britt: A coffee roaster known for its sustainability initiatives, gourmet coffee and chocolate products.
Delika (Gourmet Imports): A gourmet food importer and distributor, based in Costa Rica.
Conceptos Gastronómicos: An operator of cafes and restaurants.
