Malls rang in New Year with January sales gains

Star-Bulletin staff

Three of the island's malls - Ala Moana Center, Kahala Mall and Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center - saw double-digit gains compared with January 1995, mall sales figures show.

Pearlridge Center and Windward Mall recorded smaller increases for the period.

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center: Sales jumped 19.7 percent in January, compared with the year-ago period, said Charlian Wright, marketing director. "The Shogetsu period of the Japanese New Year's celebration extended into January and our traffic counts were way up for the month," Wright said.

Top gainers were: jewelry, up 46.5 percent; specialty items, 36 percent higher; and department stores, up 21 percent.

Ala Moana Center: January sales rose 18 percent, said Dwight Yoshimura, general manager. "We had a lot of Japanese tourists who came in for their New Year's celebration," Yoshimura said.

Strong categories were: gifts, art and specialty, up 27 percent; women's wear, ahead 25 percent; and men's and women's wear, up 23 percent.

Kahala Mall: Results were up 14.25 percent from a year ago, said Susan Pinter, marketing director. "January is traditionally a clearance sale month and we did very well," Pinter said. "And our tourist traffic was up."

For January, women's apparel rose 23.8 percent; family apparel, 33 percent; and specialty food gained 51 percent.

Windward Mall: Sales were up 5.32 percent, said spokeswoman Wright "After-Christmas sales were going well and our traffic count was high due to these promotions," Wright said.

The addition of Kids Sports last fall, where children play games, raised the recreation category by 147.5 percent in January. Other top categories were: gifts and specialty, up 60 percent; junior departments, ahead 35 percent; and children's apparel, up 33 percent.

Pearlridge Center: Sales rose 7.0 percent, said Marty Lastner, general manager. Gains were made in men's apparel, up 45.7 percent; family apparel, up 18.6 percent; and junior departments, 17.3 percent higher.