Ala Moana Center ends year with 17 new tenants
Three of the businesses opened this month, in time for the holidays
Ala Moana Center has some extra arrows in its retail quiver to help revenue numbers this holiday season: 17 new shops and restaurants, three of which opened this month.
Based on sales so far this season, Ala Moana owner General Growth Properties Inc. is expecting a "single-digit" revenue increase over last year, Sharon James, the company's regional vice president of marketing, said yesterday.
Most of the new merchants, which range from original concept stores to established, brand-name labels, opened prior to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which serves as the traditional start of the holiday shopping crunch.
This is the most important time of the year for retailers, with most doing 25 to 40 percent of their business during that time, said Carol Pregill, president of the Hawaii Retail Merchants Association.
"All of our retailers are very dependent on the holiday season," Pregill said, adding that increased competition among retailers is going to boost value for consumers.
Ala Moana's new tenants, some of which are new to Hawaii, have helped boost new retail in Honolulu by more than 81,000 square feet, said Mike Hamasu, director of research and consulting for Colliers Monroe Friedlander.
Increased competition among retailers also is going to boost value for consumers, Pregill said.
The mall's newest additions are teppanyaki eatery Hibachi-San, jeweler Daimani and the W Salon, all of which opened this month.
Other new businesses this season are:
» Koi Koi, an okonomiyaki restaurant;
» Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf;
» Trade Secret salon;
» Bonheur, a women's fashion boutique;
» Patisserie La Palme D'Or, a cafe offering specialty cakes and desserts;
» Aldo Shoes footwear, leather goods and accessories for men and women;
» Jimmy Choo high-end accessories;
» Philip Rickard Honolulu, which specializes in Hawaiian jewelry;
» Silver Rhino, which offers sterling and stainless steel rings, earrings and necklaces;
» Juicy Couture tracksuits, designer jeans, t-shirts, handbags, beachwear, watches, shoes and fragrances;
» Theory, a New York clothier known for stretch fabrics;
» Miss Sixty/Energie, jeans and shoes that meld fashion trends from the 1950s to the 1980s;
» The nightclub Pearl;
» A second ABC store.