Hawaii book
stores consolidate

Honolulu Book Shops is
clearing shelves at two stores;
Waldenbooks also will close two shops

By Peter Wagner
Star-Bulletin

Honolulu Book Shops Ltd. is clearing the shelves at two of its four stores, at Bishop Square downtown and at the Pearlridge Center.

A clearance sale at the downtown location yesterday attracted long lines of customers while a similar sale -- offering 30 percent discounts -- drew a smaller response at Pearlridge.

Employees at both stores confirmed plans to close when stocks dwindle. A clerk at Bishop Square yesterday was moving boxes of books to the company's Ala Moana Center outlet.

Honolulu Book Shops president Colin Miyabara would not comment on the situation, nor would the company's landlords, who say they haven't been told of plans to leave.

Rumors have circulated for weeks that the Thai-owned book company would close or consolidate early next year. It was not known what lies ahead for the remaining shops, at the Kailua Shopping Center and Ala Moana Shopping Center, neither of which is having a clearance sale.

Meanwhile, Waldenbooks plans to close stores at Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai and in Kona on the Big Island. A third location, at the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, had been eyed for closure but will likely remain open, company officials say.

About 20 employees are affected, most of them to be absorbed by other stores, said District Manager Theresia Howe.

Waldenbooks has 14 stores statewide. The closures would bring the number to 12. But the closures are market adjustments, not the result of competition, Howe said. She noted Waldenbooks is negotiating to open two new stores on Oahu.

"Koko Marina was never really good for us," Howe said. "In Waikiki, we had three locations and we wanted to consolidate them to have one really nice store."

In Kona, the company decided that affiliated company Borders Books & Music would do better, so Waldenbooks plans to withdraw. The two stores are across the street from each other.

Borders and Waldenbooks coexist in Hilo, where a larger market can sustain both. Howe said Waldenbooks does best in malls where shoppers have less time to browse than Borders shoppers.

Waldenbooks and Borders, both owned by Borders Group Inc., cater to different markets and don't like to compete in the same area. When Borders moved into the Ward Centre several years ago, Waldenbooks moved out.

"Our goal is to place either a Waldenbooks or a Borders Books in each community," Howe said.