BUSINESS BRIEFS
Target to carry Bubble Shack line
Advertiser Staff
The new Target stores in Kapolei and Salt Lake will carry Bubble Shack Hawaiian Soap Co. products when the two stores open next year.
The stores will carry many of Bubble Shack's line of 22 scents of handmade soap, body wash and lotions, plus the company's "Bungalow Glow" soy candles, said Bubble Shack's co-owner Holly Harding.
"Being placed in the beauty department, versus solely in the Hawaiian gifts section, shows brand integrity and Bubble Shack's potential to thrive as a daily use item versus solely as a gift item," Harding said.
Bubble Shack is based in Pearl City and its products can be found in stores here as well as on the Mainland.
KENNY'S, SBARRO NOW IN WAIKIKI
Waikiki just got a taste of Kalihi — and more pizza — in the latest food court additions opening at Royal Hawaiian Center.
Kenny's Hawaiian Express and Sbarro are both in the new Paina Lanai casual dining area on the second level of Building B.
The Kenny's is a 910-square-foot take-out restaurant offering diners a chance to experience some local favorites from the 43-year-old Kenny's Restaurant, located at Kamehameha Shopping Center.
That menu features the best-selling items from its parent restaurant, including: Chinese chicken salad, BBQ beef tri-tip, mahimahi filet, lomilomi salmon, laulau, kalua pig and chicken long rice plates.
The Sbarro goes into a 273-square-foot location, between Yummy's BBQ and Maui Tacos. Royal Hawaiian Center has 10 anchor restaurants and expects to soon have a total of nine eateries at the Paina Lanai open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
COST OF FILLING UP STILL HIGHER IN ISLES
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has fallen 15 cents during the past two weeks to $3.70 a gallon, according to an industry study.
In Hawai'i, meanwhile the average price for a gallon of regular has fallen just 5 cents to $4.32 a gallon.
Crude oil, which accounts for 76 percent of gasoline's pump price, has fallen 22 percent from the record $147.27 reached July 11 as fuel use declined.
"The 15-cent decline (nationally) came more from consumer resistance to price by cutting back on demand and the failure of refiners and retailers to pass through other costs," said oil-industry analyst, Trilby Lundberg, who surveys 7,000 gas stations nationwide.
ISLE INSURANCE CHIEF PRAISES HPU
State Insurance Commissioner J. P. Schmidt has praised Hawai'i Pacific University for instituting a graduate program of insurance and risk management.
"HPU's graduate insurance program is the first in the West," Schmidt said last week in a news release.
Many corporations, as well as insurance companies, have an increasing appreciation for the need to understand all the risks their companies' face and the alternative means of mitigating that risk."
The Hawai'i Pacific program offers classes leading to a graduate certificate, or if students take the core Masters of Business Administration classes, they will receive an MBA with a specialization in insurance and risk management.
"We are very excited about this new program. It is a useful service to the local business and insurance community, who have stated that it is difficult to find people with this important knowledge," said Warren Wee, a faculty member who helped design the program.
