Posted on: Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Electronics chain plans O'ahu store

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Good Guys, a Mainland electronics chain specializing in higher-end entertainment products, is coming to O'ahu.

CompUSA, owner of Good Guys, has leased a two-story, 45,000-square-foot building at Pearl Highlands Shopping Center, and is expected to open a third CompUSA store on one level with Good Guys on the other level.

Both stores are anticipated to open in the fall, according to marketing materials from local real-estate firm and Pearl Highlands management firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

CompUSA spokeswoman Dawn Nguyen declined to confirm or comment on plans, saying it is company policy not to discuss potential new stores until after stores are open.

The CompUSA and Good Guys stores, if opened as expected, would turn up competition among big-box consumer electronics retailers, especially in Pearl City where Circuit City has long dominated at Pearlridge and Best Buy is developing one of its first two Island stores nearby.

Best Buy is also building a store in Iwilei, while CompUSA has stores on Ala Moana in Kaka'ako and at Waikele Center, a location the company assumed after it acquired Computer City in 1998.

Good Guys — a California-based chain with 71 stores in California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon — touts itself as providing entertainment solutions for tech-savvy consumers referred to as "early adopters" of the newest electronic gadgets.

Jen Leoiki-Drino, a Hawai'i resident who has lived in California and shopped at Good Guys, said the retailer focuses more on higher-end audio and visual equipment for the home and automobile compared with Best Buy, which also sells appliances like refrigerators and vacuums, or CompUSA with its focus on computer merchandise.

"Compared to everything we have right now, Good Guys is way (better) than anything," she said.

Local retail consultant Stephany Sofos said consumer electronics retailers are riding the home-buying boom. "With baby boomers getting older, the trend is buying a bigger house and a bigger entertainment center," she said. "Upper-middle-class homes don't have dens anymore, they have media rooms. Everything is on DVD."

Dallas-based CompUSA bought Good Guys in late 2003 for $55 million as a way to broaden CompUSA's higher-end merchandise selection and lift Good Guys out of financial struggles.

Since then, there has been some integration of the two companies, though the retail stores have remained separate and distinctive.

CompUSA officials have previously mentioned the possibility of expanding the Good Guys chain, and the Hawai'i location could be the first such expansion as part of a bigger plan.

The space at Pearl Highlands leased by CompUSA is at the diamondhead end of the shopping center in a building that has been empty since the mall opened in 1993.

The 420,000-square-foot center, developed by Japan-based Takenaka International Ltd., struggled financially in its early years, and has undergone a host of improvements, tenants and owners in recent years.

Nearby development, which includes the opening of Home Depot and construction of a Wal-Mart, have also helped draw people to the area.

A Morgan Stanley investment fund in December paid $113.5 million for Pearl Highlands from pension fund La- Salle Investment Management, which paid $62.4 million in 2000.

Center anchors include Sam's Club, Ross and Signature Theaters, which were recently joined by Pier 1 Imports.

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