Grupo Corripio

Infobox Company
company_name = Grupo Corripio
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1917
location = Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
key_people = Jose Luis Corripio (Chairman and CEO)
industry = Diversified
products = Media Industrial Banking Investments
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 8,000 (2006)
parent =
homepage = [http://www.tele-antillas.tv/ www.tele-antillas.tv]

Grupo Corripio is a private holding company which is considered among the most successful enterprises operating in the Dominican Republic, owning a controlling interest in several companies across a wide variety of sectors. Some of Grupo Corripio’s best known and most profitable investments are in the mass media industry and include the newspapers "Hoy", and "El Nacional y El Día", as well as the television channels Tele Antillas and Telesistema. Grupo Corripio is currently led by Jose Luis Corripio Estrada.

Early History

The foundation for Grupo Corripio was established during 1917 when Ramón Corripio first arrived in the Dominican Republic from Spain. Ramón received further support when his brother Manuel Corripio (1908-2005) arrived in 1921. They established the business with a modest sum of RD$3,000 pesos and lost much of their initial investment after the San Zenón Hurricane of 1930. In the wake of the tragedy the Canadian Royal Bank offered to discount its clients debt by 50%. However, the Corripio brothers, who had incurred debt to the bank, preferred settling their commitments. This decision helped establish a solid reputation and opened new doors and sources for financing.

According to Manuel’s son and the current president of Grupo Corripio, Mr. Jose Luis Corripio Estrada, the family enterprise was developed from years of intense work, with the entire family (including his mother) following a labor ritual that began at 6:00 am and ended at midnight. An emphasis on savings and monitoring costs was a critical internal component. Manuel even delayed purchasing a home for several years because he preferred investing available capital into his businesses.

A determining period in the Groups development occurred after the fall of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (d. 1961) and the April Revolution, the political uprising of April 1965 that led to the second occupation of the Dominican Republic by the US military. These events catalyzed an unprecedented opening of the country’s domestic market and the Corripio family took advantage of the opportunity by investing in several new businesses. According to Jose Luis Corripio, a critical factor in the group’s future success was remaining confident in the Dominican Republic, even at times when domestic turmoil and uncertainty caused other businesses to flee.

Pepín Corripio initiated another stage of the company’s growth by diversifying their investments in a variety of new business sectors. Among the first sectors the Group targeted was the gasoline industry, which was inspired by Pepín’s observation of the commodities necessity in Dominicans performance of daily activities.

Growth and Expansion

Grupo Corripio has managed to consistently maintain a healthy growth rate since the 1950s. According to its chairman Jose Luis Corripio the group “has been growing (consistently)… Our strategy was a constant process of slow and unspectacular growth year by year. [Quote from the article “El magnate dominicano”. Estrategia y Negocios (July 2003)] Between 1997 and 2002 the number of Corripio’s employees increased from 5,600 to 7,100. Growth of the group remained concentrated in the Dominican domestic market and was made possible by creating new businesses and developing new alliances.Grupo Corripio, which according to its founder tried to remain independent from commercial banks, had a substantial participation in Banco del Progreso – above 5% - and had also invested in a second Dominican Bank. Investments in mass media increased significantly during the 1990s; in 2003 the company controlled the morning daily Hoy, the evening daily El Nacional, the free newspaper El Dia, Ahora magazine and several television channels (including Tele Antillas and channels 2, 11, and 39) as well as the editing company Editora Corripio.

During the 1990s Grupo Corripio also expanded its involvement in the industrial sector. In 1996, the Group allied with the Colombian firm Cementos de Colombia and the Spanish Umar (subsidiary of Holcim) to acquire the privatized Cementos ColOn, producer of concrete. The performance of Cementos Colon since then has been nothing less of spectacular. According to the magazine Estrategia y Negocios, in 2000 the firm had annual sales of US$30 million and increased market share from 5% in 1998 to 17% two years later (26). In 2000 Grupo Corripio also created a joint venture with the Costa Rican Durman Esquivel and Metaldom – a large Dominican producer of metal products – to start producing PVC pipes in the Dominican Republic. [Interview with a manager from Durman Esquival, San Jose, Costa Rica. October 2002] According to Durman Eqquivel the new factory of PVC they opened with Grupo Corripio and Metaldom in 2001 generated profits faster than any other of Durman’s investments in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. [Ibid]

ocial and Political Activities

The success enjoyed by Grupo Corripio over the decades has enabled the family to expand it’s influence throughout the country. In Dominican society it is “traditional” for large groups to finance political parties, as recognized by Jose Luis Corripio in a newspaper interview in 2002. [(78) “El magnate dominicano”, Estrategia y Negocios, July 2003] The largest groups are also directly involved in supporting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations as well as cultural events. Through all these mechanisms they contribute to setting the political, economic and cultural agenda of the country. [Diego Sanchez Ancochea, “Domestic capital, Civil Servants and the State: Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic under Globalization”, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London]

The Group has established the Fundación Corripio which collaborates in developing a wide variety of objectives and programs related to cultural diffusion.

Notes