BUSINESS BRIEFS
Yogurt store marks debut with gift
Advertiser Staff and News Services
In celebration of its grand opening, Menchie's Yogurt will donate 50 percent of its profits Saturday to Special Olympics Hawaii.
Menchie's, a self-serve frozen yogurt store, will be opening at Ward Warehouse at 9 a.m. with activities, including a Chinese lion dance and taiko drums.
Menchie's partners Kelly Hiraki and Erica Miyabara are both graduates of Punahou School, and will donate a minimum of $2,000 to Special Olympics in conjunction with The Great Aloha Run.
"We discovered the yogurt craze during the summer of 2007 and dreamed about someday opening a yogurt franchise in Hawai'i," Hiraki said.
WORKSHOPS TO AID SMALL BUSINESSES
The Hawai'i Small Business Development Center and the National Football League is teaming up again to put on a series of workshops to help small businesses.
The "Pro Bowl Workshop Series" will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 5, 2009, at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. The workshops are designed to meet the needs of startup and expanding businesses.
This will be the fourth year that the Hawai'i Small Business Development Center and NFL will sponsor the event.
Registration is $75. Trade tables to showcase products and services are available for $150.
For information, call the Hawai'i Small Business Development Center at 945-1430 or send an e-mail to Eleanore.leclair@hawaii-sbdc.org. Information also is available at www.hawaii-sbdc.org.
WESTJET AIRLINE'S INCOME FALLS 28%
WestJet Airlines Ltd., Canada's second-biggest carrier, said third-quarter net income fell 28 percent on higher fuel costs and slowing consumer demand.
Profit was $46 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with $64 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier, the Calgary-based airline said yesterday in a statement. WestJet flies nonstop between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Honolulu, Kona and Maui.
Revenue climbed 18 percent to $604 million. Jet-fuel prices that were 91 percent higher at the start of the quarter from a year earlier hurt WestJet. A slowing economy and a weaker Canadian dollar, which has fallen 16 percent against the U.S. currency this year, also made Canadian consumers less willing to splurge on a trip south.
"While our third-quarter results reflect a combination of higher fuel costs and the beginning of a more challenging environment for demand, we continued to demonstrate our ability to weather the financial storm and effectively manage costs," Chief Executive Officer Sean Durfy said in the statement.
SHIPPER CUTTING NONUNION WORKERS
Horizon Lines Inc. announced a nonunion workforce restructuring initiative targeted at reducing annualized labor-related costs by an estimated $7 million to $10 million.
The company, which is the second-largest shipper serving Hawai'i, said it intends to reduce its workforce by at least 10 percent, or 70 of its 700-plus nonunion employees.
The company said it will offer a voluntary severance program to certain eligible nonunion employees. If the company is unable to achieve anticipated reductions from the voluntary program, it intends to lay off nonunion employees.
Horizon said it expects to complete the workforce reduction initiative by Jan. 31, 2009, and it is expected to result in a fourth-quarter 2008 charge of approximately $3.5 million to $5 million pretax, or 11 cents to 16 cents per fully diluted share.
