$19 million in sales this year, making it one of the busiest restaurants in the chain.

"Retail has always been better here than on the Mainland," said Stephany Sofos, a local retail and real-estate consultant. "Our sales per square footage are better, our margins are better. ... There's a whole bunch of things that motivate and create that atmosphere of good shopping in Hawai'i."

This year sales at Hawai'i Sears are about 6 percent above the highest selling Sears stores on the Mainland, said Jon Kawata, general manager for Sears Ala Moana. And that's despite growing competition from other Mainland retailers such as Circuit City and Wal-Mart, which opened on Oct. 13 just two blocks away.

"We're becoming very similar to the Mainland markets real quick," Kawata said. "A lot of the major competitors are moving into town or expanding. ... But we've got a loyal customer base here and we have to protect that. We have to take care of them."

The strong sales means more jobs. Kawata hired about 100 extra workers for the holidays, bringing his total to more than 500.

"The economy is getting better faster here than most of the other states," said Carol Pregill, president of Retail Merchants of Hawai'i. "And that (trend) seems to be holding."

With about $19 million in sales this year, The Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki has become the No. 1 grossing restaurant of all 86 restaurants in the chain. It's also the highest grossing restaurant ever in the company for its first year of business.

"I say we're pretty happy we opened," said Howard Gordon, senior vice president of business development and marketing for The Cheesecake Factory.

He credits much of the success of the restaurant to the redevelopment of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and all of Waikiki in luring both tourists and residents to the eatery.

"We had been looking in Honolulu for many years and offered different sites, but nothing really excited us," Gordon said. "But with the commitment to the redevelopment (of the area), we knew that it was time for us to look at Hawai'i again. ... And I think we're helping that redevelopment."

The state — and local retailers — are benefiting from solid job and income growth, low unemployment and a declining bankruptcy rate.

In addition to what Sofos calls the "captive market" of about 1.2 million residents, Hawai'i retailers are also profiting from the state's strong visitor numbers.

This year the state's tourism industry enjoyed steady and solid gains in visitors. Tourism officials are expecting visitor arrivals this year to be near, and maybe surpass, the record 6.95 million visitors that came to Hawai'i in 2000.

So far through October, tourists have spent $8.5 billion this year, up 6.8 percent over the same period last year — good news for retailers.

"Every three to seven days you have a new set of people coming in," Sofos said. "So that keeps your market fresh."

Sales at Macy's stores in Hawai'i are strong year-round because of the state's tourism industry, said Deena Nichols, senior vice president, regional director of stores for Hawai'i and Guam.

While its Mainland locations rely heavily on holiday sales, Hawai'i stores post stronger first-quarter sales when the industry picks up again.

"In general Hawai'i is much more consistent than the Mainland stores," Nichols said. "We're excited about the marketplace here."

Hawai'i residents share a tradition of spending big during the holidays, Sofos added, which often results in higher sales for local retailers compared to their national counterparts.

"They save up all year to spend on Christmas," Sofos said. "That's a different culture on the Mainland."

The average Mainland consumer spends between $700 and $900 during the holidays, Sofos said. In Hawai'i consumers average between $1,200 and $1,500.

"The local population here is close-knit, so they really do spend the money," Sofos said.

At Ala Moana Center, most of the chain stores are posting high seasonal sales that place them in the top quarter in their chain, said Dwight Yoshimura, the center's general manager.

He said chain stores such as Neiman Marcus, Old Navy and Abercrombie & Fitch are among their chain's highest grossing stores this Christmas. High-end boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and Coach are also boasting strong sales this holiday season.

"We're a different kind of market," Yoshimura said, "and that's what makes us so unique."