Local shops feeling merry

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i retailers may receive an unexpected gift of strong holiday-season sales for a second year in a row, judging from store and mall reports over the three-day weekend.

While not everyone saw higher sales, many retailers and malls said yesterday that business had improved as much as 15 percent over the same weekend last year.

The strong start generally mirrors what happened a year ago, when holiday-season sales rose despite fears about the impact of job losses and terrorism concerns following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Still, this year's results are surprising, given growing worries about a sputtering national economy, possible war with Iraq and national retail forecasts that had predicted slight sales increases at best.

"We were expecting it to be about the same as last year because of the issues people are facing ... but it was busier than last year," said Waynard Simmons, sales manager for 11 KB Toys stores in Hawai'i.

Two factors seem to be putting shoppers in the mood to spend earlier: expanded promotions, advertising and store hours, and one fewer weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas, giving people less time to buy gifts.

Those factors seemed to bring out more first-time early-bird shoppers such as Monica Mendoza, who lives at Hickam Air Force Base with her three children and husband, a civil engineer with the Air Force.

"I decided to tackle the sales a little bit more than before," she said after shopping at KB Toys in Pearlridge Center on Friday morning.

"I never have, and I think I'm going to see a big difference in what I'm spending because of it. Usually I try to avoid the rush, but I end up spending much more. So this year I'm trying a different strategy: give up the time for less money."

Dwight Yoshimura, general manager of Ala Moana Center, did not have weekend sales figures yesterday, but said traffic at the mall was heavier than a year ago. "Retailers recognize that customers are value-shopping, and are adjusting price points accordingly," he said.

The pressure to discount will make it harder for stores to raise sales revenues, according to retail analysts, some of whom still believe holiday-season sales will be flat or slightly down this year nationally because of discounting and a lack of "must-have" items.

National sales forecasts generally range from increases of 2 percent to 4 percent.

In Hawai'i yesterday, KB manager Simmons said it was company policy not to divulge sales information, but noted there were more people in the stores spending more over the long weekend.

Ben Arita, general manager for two Sports Authority stores on O'ahu and one on Maui, said weekend sales were up about 15 percent over the same weekend last year.

"We had better door-buster items and better discounts," he said. "People wanted to spend more. They were going for it."

Arita said Sports Authority stocked more special items, such as half-price jogging strollers, folding arm chairs at two for $10, and 100-square-foot shade canopies that "flew out like mad" at $65.

At Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, sales at the Big Island's largest shopping center rose 6.7 percent on the day after Thanksgiving, and were up 14.8 percent over the previous year for the three-day weekend.

Mall management gave away a $1,000 shopping spree to one of the first 500 people in line Friday morning. "People started lining up the night before at 9 o'clock," said Carol Van Camp, mall general manager.

She said Sears, Macy's, KB Toys and Radio Shack had especially strong marketing events this year that helped business at the mall.

Also mounting strong promotions around the state were Kmart and J.C. Penney, which has cut prices on everything in its four Hawai'i stores by 30 percent to 60 percent in preparation for closing Jan. 10.

A spokesman for Kmart in Hawai'i said he could not talk about sales, but the retailer would open its non-24-hour stores earlier from mid-December and keep all four O'ahu stores open 24 hours a few days before Christmas.

Peter Tabilang, merchandising director for 25 Radio Shack stores in Hawai'i, said the electronics retailer broadened its merchandise and strengthened advertising to draw in more customers. Its stores were rewarded with a double-digit sales gain over the weekend.

Tabilang said Radio Shack would have sales every Tuesday through Christmas to keep shoppers coming.

"The day after Thanksgiving was a win for us," he said. "It pretty much set the tone for the weekend ... and I think it's going to carry us through Christmas."

At Kahala Mall, general manager Ron Yoda estimated weekend sales rose in the single-digit percentage range over the same time last year. "From talking to tenants, sales are good," he said. "They're happy."

Yoda said reports were good, considering there was the University of Hawai'i football game against Alabama on Saturday that drew a sellout crowd to Aloha Stadium and thousands more to the live broadcast on ESPN.

Jonathan Kim, general manager at Windward Mall, said weekend sales were up at O'ahu's fourth-largest shopping center, which featured concerts by Melveen Leed and Nohelani Cypriano on Friday and Kapena on Saturday.

Kim said Sears reported a double-digit increase during the three days over the comparable period last year. Macy's, another anchor tenant, also reported higher sales, as did many specialty retailers such as Koolau Pets Plants & Ponds, Get Wet and Jeans Warehouse.

"The jewelry stores didn't fare too well," Kim said, noting that jewelry often sells better late in the season. "Usually what happens is husbands and boyfriends panic at the last minute and get their significant other something nice and expensive. So maybe towards Christmas jewelry sales will pick up."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.