[ PAPER IN PARADISE ]

Hopaco grows but
hangs onto ohana spirit

A local wrinkle is its emergency
hand-truck service to downtown

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By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

A 1926 newspaper advertisement called the Honolulu Paper Co. the "largest and finest equipped paper house in the Territory." It's a title that Hopaco can still claim.

The company, since 1964 a division of Boise Cascade Corp., did $50 million in sales last year. "We are the largest distributor of office products and solutions in the state," said General Manager William Matheson.

When Boise Cascade bought the locally owned retail and distributing business, it added the dimension of the forest products manufacturing giant, which is listed in the Fortune 500 and had $3.7 billion in sales in 2000. But Boise preserved Hopaco's "local culture," said Marketing and Operations Manager Yi Token, and in 1971 made Hopaco the official name.

"Our size surprises people," Matheson said. "The retail side is visible, but that's only 25 percent of the business." Matheson has headed Hopaco for eight years and has been with Boise for 25 years.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM William Matheson, general manager for eight years, touts Hopaco's next-day delivery.

When the Ala Moana Hopaco store -- source of crystal and silverware as well as greeting cards, stationery, office supplies and typewriters -- closed in 1996, its visibility to the average consumer diminished. But there are still eight retail stores on four islands. The newest opened in March at Harbor Center in Pearl City. The 9,000-square-foot store borrows the warehouse ambience of the "big box" stores, an indication that "We're old ... but we're new," said Token, who has been with Hopaco for 24 years. "Whatever Office Max and Office Depot can offer, we're certainly there."

It's not just a paper world. Hopaco offers office furniture, a range of computers -- Hewlett-Packard Compaq and, exclusively, Gateway products -- and logo products, such as shirts and caps. "We provide next-day delivery," said Matheson, with a fleet of 27 delivery trucks on four islands. A local spin is the emergency hand-truck express service from the Davies Center to downtown businesses.

Token said "the spirit of ohana and local culture" comes into play in the company's service to hundreds of small businesses. Hopaco's 210 employees include telemarketers, many of them longtime employees. A mom-and-pop store can count on dealing with their familiar saleswoman, and no order is too manini to fill.

The current executives' longevity in the job is also part of the local culture. Douglas S. Gibb, who was president and general manager when Boise acquired the company, had more than 20 years in the job, as did his predecessor, C.T. Oliphant.

Old clippings reveal one area of decline. Honolulu Paper Co. was also once a bookstore. A March 1934 news story reported that one of America's most famous writers, Carl Sandburg, would be at the Bishop Street store to meet his readers. It was an opportunity hard to match in these days of technology and speed.

Hopaco 1918: Honolulu Paper Co. opens in downtown Honolulu. 1925: The company buys Hawaiian News and Thrum's Ltd., the oldest stationery store in the islands. 1959: The Hopaco retail store is one of the first tenants in the new Ala Moana Center. 1964: Boise Cascade Corp. buys Hopaco. 1971: The local division's name is officially changed to Hopaco. 1996: An office-oriented outlet at Davies Center replaces the Ala Moana store. March 2002: The eighth retail outlet in Hawaii opens at Harbor Center, Pearl City.