Kodak's distributor for Central America and the Caribbean presented PriceSmart with their top award for “Best in Class Photo Finisher” for 2009 at Kodak’s award ceremonies held during the Photo Marketing Association Trade Show & Convention in February 2010. The plaque was given by Kodak/Smile Market.

PriceSmart was identified as the market leader in pricing, quality, and volume and was Kodak/Smile Market’s number one customer in the Caribbean and Central America regions with unsurpassed growth of 48% over the prior year.

Country Manager Eric Torres, Santo Domingo Warehouse Manager Edwin Torres and 2 other employees delivered a truckload of supplies donated by PriceSmart DR members into Haiti. The DR clubs had already collected 14 pallets of supplies which were delivered to a relief organization in Santo Domingo for distribution to Haiti. But after collecting another 22 pallets, Eric and Edwin decided to deliver these directly to a group that is operating in Haiti at the DR border and has smaller trucks that are able to get these supplies out to Port au Prince and the other affected areas. Click here for the full story.

The December issue of Chain Store Age profiles PriceSmart President Jose Luis Laparte as one of six regional retail winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) awards. The EOY program, started in 1986, has expanded to a global event with awards presented in 35 countries. Thousands of individuals compete annually for the prestigious honor. Click here for the full text of the article, reprinted with permission of Chain Store Age (www.chainstoreage.com).

From October 16th through December 13th, 2009 PriceSmart clubs in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama sponsored "Juntos Por La Educación"(Together for Education), a fundraising campaign benefitting the Aprender y Crecer (Learning & Growing) program. PriceSmart members in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Honduras donated over $240,000, well above the collective goal of $190,000. With just under $186,000 in matching donations from Price Charities, over $426,000 will go toward continuing Aprender y Crecer’s efforts to support public education in the region.

Aprender y Crecer, a program of Price Charities, aims to improve educational and life opportunities by providing school supplies and materials in partnership with local elementary schools so that principals, teachers, parents and students can focus on quality teaching and learning.

PriceSmart members in El Salvador and Panama can now purchase thousands of additional items online at PriceSmart.com. Online shopping was launched in these countries in November 2009. Members in Costa Rica have been shopping online since January 2007 and online shopping has been available in Guatemala since May 2008. There are plans to launch online shopping in all countries where PriceSmart operates, with Trinidad and the Dominican Republic next on the schedule.

PriceSmart Jamaica Ltd. was one of 10 awardees at the 5th Annual Public Lecture titled "THE TIME TRASH BOMB" hosted by The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica on October 22, 2009.

PriceSmart was commended for playing a part in protecting the environment by promoting re-usable shopping bags and discontinuing the issuing of plastic bags. Guest speaker Professor Elizabeth Thomas-Hope of the University of the West Indies commented in her lecture that she hopes that other supermarkets will join in similar campaigns.

Each year Ernst & Young, through its Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, seeks to recognize great business achievements around the world. The San Diego regional office selects 30 individuals from among San Diego's business leaders as worthy candidates for these awards.

PriceSmart's President Jose Luis Laparte was selected as one of these 30 candidates, and in June of 2009 after a rigorous interview process he was awarded Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year in the Turnaround Category for the San Diego region. As such, Mr. Laparte is now eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 national awards, to be announced on November 14, 2009.