U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami joined PriceSmart President and CEO Jose Luis Laparte for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for PriceSmart’s new distribution center in Miami-Dade County.
PriceSmart is the largest operator of membership warehouse clubs in Central America, the Caribbean and Colombia.
The 325,000-square-foot Class A facility, at 11441 NW 107th St. in Flagler Station in Medley, will serve 75 warehouse clubs across its retail network in Latin America. The state-of-the-art facility will house 125 loading positions and provide parking for more than 100 trailers, and the expansion and new interior configurations will allow PriceSmart to more effectively serve its fast-growing Latin American consumer base as it continues to leverage Miami’s prime location as a bridge to the Americas, the company said.
Although PriceSmart has no storefronts in the United States, the company is a leading Miami exporter and maintains a workforce of more than 200 employees in its Miami distribution facilities. More than $1 billion in merchandise sold by PriceSmart is sourced in the United States and moves via more than 20,000 maritime containers annually, the San Diego, California-based company said.
The publicly traded warehouse chain runs stores similar to Costco or Sam’s Club in a dozen countries.