Parque Arauco S.A.

The powerful Said clan in South America was founded by patriarch Isa Said, who immigrated to Peru from Jerusalem and made a fortune in commerce. His five sons contributed much towards the development of the textile industry in Peru and Bolivia, managing extensive cotton plantations and cotton-yarn factories. One of the five was Salvador, the father of nine children, including one son named José Said Saffie. José became involved in his extended family's operations at an early age. During the 1940s, the Said family relocated to Chile to develop a textile industry there, and José Said was an active participant in their first business, Industrias Químicas Generales. In the 1960s, José Said and his uncle founded Banco del Trabajo, which grew to be among the five largest banks in Chile.

Chilean projects during the 1980s

In 1979, José Said founded Parque Arauco S.A. (PASA), a real estate development firm that was incorporated in 1981. The following year, he and his associates, who included Tomás Fürst Freiwirth and the Martínez Perales brothers, opened the Parque Arauco Shopping Center in the Las Condes municipality of Santiago, which contained retail stores Gala-Sears and Muricy (later owned by Falabella and Almacenes París, respectively). Since the mall adjoins at Kennedy Avenue (Avenida Kennedy), it is often referred to as Parque Arauco Kennedy to distinguish it from the corporation. Aided by an overvalued Chilean peso and an economic free trade policy, Chile was saturated with inexpensive foreign products when Parque Arauco Kennedy was inaugurated, and those who could afford to buy filled the new mall. However, the Chilean economy was falling into deep recession. Around the same time, the company introduced Arauco Outlet Mall in Santiago's Maipú municipality. This commercial center did not perform well and was later converted into a shopping mall.

1990s

In 1997, PASA's partners decided to divide their Chilean holdings. The Said group acquired Fürst's 12% holding and turned over to Fürst its 14% share of Plaza Vespucio, which became the core property of Fürst's rival venture, Grupo Plaza (or Mall Plaza). The Said group now controlled 38% of PASA's outstanding shares. The Abumohor family, also active in textiles and, like the Saids, of Arab origin, held 10%. Two pension funds held a combined 24%. Parque Arauco Kennedy was Chile's largest shopping mall at the time, with annual sales of $500 million, while Plaza Vespucio ranked third, at $380 million. A medical tower was being constructed at Parque Arauco Kennedy, and an office building was being contemplated at a cost of $100 million. For Mall Arauco Maipú, PASA was considering building an additional medical tower and a high-rise apartment building. In 1999, PASA, in partnership with the Almacenes Paris and Ripley retail chain, completed the Marina Arauco Mall in Viña del Mar at a cost of $120 million. PASA malls accounted for 24% of Chile's shopping-center revenues in that year.