Oahu mall sales lag
in September

Star-Bulletin staff

Shoppers continue to be cautious at Oahu's major malls, and merchants hope they are just waiting until Christmas to increase their spending.

Sales in September at suburban shopping centers were basically flat, compared with September 1997, while those centers more dependent on tourists continued to show large drops.

Statewide, retail sales were at $1.240 billion for the month, down 19.4 percent from $1.538 billion in September 1997, according to state Department of Taxation records.

Here's a look at the major malls' results for September, the most recent month available, provided to the Star-Bulletin by the malls.

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center: Sales fell 29 percent, said Charlian Wright, marketing director. "The 10.3 percent decrease in visitors to the island of Oahu helped contribute to this decrease along with the dollar continuing to be fairly strong against the yen," Wright said.

The stronger dollar hurts Japanese tourists when they convert yen for shopping.

Ala Moana Center: Sales slumped 22 percent, said Dwight Yoshimura, general manager. "People are more cautious on spending now," he said.

The closing of Woolworth also affected the sales total, he said. But Yoshimura noted positive signs. "The opening of Neiman Marcus drew locals and tourists, and sales were very brisk," he said.

Other new additions include the Wildflowers store, featuring women's apparel, and the Panini Grill Too! Italian sandwich outlet in the Food Court.

Victoria Ward Centers: Sales were up .5 percent, said Valery O'Brien, managing director of marketing. "Casual wear was up 53 percent," O'Brien said. "We're seeing people buying more Aloha wear, with brighter colors."

The Kamehameha Garment Co., with men's and women's clothes, moved into a much larger space at Ward Center, O'Brien said.

"The old space is being taken over by Sarong by Bali, which is owned by Kamehameha Garment Co."

Other new stores are A New Season, which sells women's apparel, and Pier One Imports, both of which opened last week.

Kahala Mall: Sales slipped .92 percent, said Laurie Hara, marketing director. "We had a fashion show with celebrities, a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, and other events, so we had a good traffic flow in September," Hara said. "The customer counts were there but they didn't spend as much."

Software Etc. opened in mid-September and Godiva Chocolatier opened on Oct. 31.

Pearlridge Center: Sales were down .6 percent, said Heidi DiEugenio, marketing manager.

"Some of our remodeled stores are doing really well," she said. "Our customers are looking for extra service, a better product mix and the new look for stores."

Pearlridge again is building a large sand sculpture, using 70 tons of Hawaiian sand to portray "Santas from Around the World." It will be completed just before Thanksgiving and remain on display through mid-January.

Windward Mall: Business fell 3 percent, said Sandi Oguma, marketing director. She said shoppers most likely are holding off spending until the Christmas holidays but some categories were up in September.

Home furnishings and appliances was up 23 percent and jewelry sales rose 28 percent. "We also see men's apparel, women's apparel and unisex apparel all trending up," Oguma said.

For the holidays, there are five new stores. They include the Holiday Hut, which offers Polynesian-made goods from the Polynesian Cultural Center.