1946

The road to maturity

The face of a company moving into adulthood 1946-1968

After having endured the challenges presented by the First and Second World War and the economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s, Kersten was ready to enter into its next phase of development. As the Surinamese community was reinventing itself, and modernizing, along with the rest of the world, its needs and desires changed. Where in previous times the focus of the community was geared towards satisfying such basic needs like food, shelter and education, its focus was now shifting towards more modern desires. Once again it was Kersten, who would venture to satisfy these desires. Kersten’s response to the changing desires would manifest itself through companies such as the first Surinamese Supermarket called HOLA, the opening of what would later be known as Hotel Krasnapolsky and the first department store that is in operation to this day.