Q. There's a lot of activity going on inside and outside the Don Quijote stores. What will be different when you have your re-opening this Friday?

A. Everything will be the same and yet everything will change. We have new merchandise from Japan and the existing merchandise. The way we will display it will be different. We're not raising prices. But we will make customers surprised. We will ensure that they're surprised.

Q. Any surprises you'd like to share?

A. I'm sorry. I can't.

Q. Why do you have workers from Japan making hand-painting display signs, some of which feature the Don Quijote penguin mascot?

A. These are love letters that connect the customers with the merchandise. At Don Quijote, we want people to get excited by the displays and the way that they see the merchandise presented. We put a lot of effort into the design.

Q. What is the origin of the penguin?

A. It's like this. Don Quijote is a night-time store and the night-time sky is cobalt blue. We had to find a living being that was suited to cobalt blue and the penguin looks good in cobalt blue.

Q. You oversee 950 employees at four stores on O'ahu — Kaheka Street, Pearl City, Waipahu and Kailua — who serve untold customers. How do you manage customer and employee concerns that the former Daiei stores will change under Don Quijote?

A. The most frequent thing I hear from the customers is, 'You're not going to get rid of foods are you?' We will not. What I hear from employees is, 'What should we be doing?' I usually say, 'It's up to you.' We tell them we're looking to see smiles on customers' faces.

Q. Will the Hawai'i stores resemble Don Quijote in cities like Tokyo?

A. No. It'll be Hawaiian-style Don Quijote. We absolutely won't make the aisles smaller.

Q. Did Don Quijote conduct any surveys of what customers want in the reconfigured stores?

A. No, nothing special.

Q. How will you measure customer satisfaction?

A. It's in the planning stages right now, but we'll be able to see what they're saying about the Hawai'i stores over the Don Quijote Web site.

Q. You studied textile and apparel in college, hoping to design women's fashion. Now you run a chain of retail merchandise stores where you're often seen wearing work gloves and a leather tool pouch.

A. I carry box cutters, scissors and pliers. If the customers will buy it, the merchandise moves.

Q. Is there a task you won't you do?

A. I do everything.

Q. Why is that important?

A. It reinforces the basic principles of our company.

Q. Customers in Hawai'i still call your stores Holiday Mart, let alone Daiei. Does it bother you that the Don Quijote name has yet to stick with Hawai'i customers?

A. No, not at all. If they do (call it Don Quijote), I'd be very happy.

Q. In Japan, customers call your stores Donki. Do you think Donki will ever catch on in Hawai'i?

A. Yeah, donki, donki. It's something the customers starting saying.