April 24, 2001 — The sluggish tourism economy has claimed another retail business on St. Croix, Colombian Emeralds International.
The company decided to close its single St. Croix jewelry store, on Queen Cross Street in Christiansted, due to "the continuing downward trend in tourism over the last four years," Colombian Emeralds CEO Stephen Crane said this week.
The company, which has had a presence on St. Croix since 1989, operates 33 other stores throughout the Caribbean, including four on St. Thomas and one on St. John. When the St. Croix store reopened after Hurricanes Marilyn, Crane said the company remained hopeful that more hotels and cruise ships would be attracted to the island.
One hotel-casino has opened since then, and cruise ship calls have increased slightly, but this apparently wasn’t enough to keep the store profitable. The St. Croix closing, Crane said, is part of Colombian Emeralds' strategic plan to consolidate its resources into markets reaching the most residents and international visitors, where a greater return on investment can be earned.
"We believe we can better service our customers by remaining focused on our 33 Colombian Emeralds International island-based stores," Crane said. "We see exciting opportunities for expansion in the region and beyond, but it is also essential for Colombian Emeralds International to respond to prevailing market trends."
St. Croix Chamber of Commerce President Carmelo Rivera and former president Noel Loftus agreed that the trend on St. Croix is negative. Loftus pointed to the closing three weeks ago of another downtown Christiansted jewelry store, House of Vizia, as a sign that things are getting worse, despite recent statements by the Turnbull administration that tourism is on the upswing.
"We’ve been told that tourism is up. The CEO of Colombian Emeralds said tourism is down, not up," Loftus said. "St. Croix is getting more cruise ship passengers, but they are spending less."
Rivera said many stores on the island are not turning profits and are falling into debt. "That’s the reality," he said. "I’m very concerned."
Don Siener, a jewelry store owner with space in both Christiansted and Frederiksted, said the island’s economy isn’t necessarily down; it just hasn’t improved from the doldrums that set in five or six years ago.
"St. Croix’s economy has changed very little since the mid-1990s," he said. "Things aren’t getting worse. They’re just not getting better, and businesses can’t hang on if it continues."
