Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Wednesday, September 24, 1997

Roy's restaurant chain
to open in Arizona

The Hawaii-founded Roy's restaurant chain will open its 13th outlet later this year, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Former Honolulu restaurateur Randy Schoch, who acquired a Roy's franchise covering the whole area around Phoenix, has been in Honolulu this week training at Roy's in Hawaii Kai. Schoch said the Scottsdale opening is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Schoch, who holds the Ruth's Chris Steak House franchise for Hawaii, moved to Arizona two years ago to establish a new base for restaurant development.

The Roy's Restaurant business, founded by chef Roy Yamaguchi, now has restaurants on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island and in California, Guam, Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Slower sales in Hawaii
hurting Gucci's net

MILAN, Italy -- Gucci Group NV shares plunged nearly 20 percent in U.S. markets today after the maker of designer scarves and handbags warned that economic and currency problems have caused sales to decline in Hawaii and Asia.

Gucci has "been penalized by the exceptional strength of the dollar," said Chief Executive Domenico De Sole. The company expects second half growth to be "restricted."

"The declining value of the yen and the slowdown in the Japanese economy have reduced the flow of Japanese tourists in Hong Kong and Hawaii," De Sole said. The decline is expected to continue into the second half of the year.

Gucci's stock dropped $11.31 to close at $46.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Italian company's fiscal first-half profit also missed expectations by a penny, according to IBES International Inc. Net income rose 29 percent to $90.3 million, or $1.47 a share, from $69.9 million, or $1.15, a year earlier, Bloomberg News reported.

Shares in Avis a hit
in first day of trading

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Avis Rent A Car Inc. shares rose 32 percent in first-day trading, benefiting from the rental-car company's low initial price and the success of rival Hertz Corp.'s initial public offering.

Parent company HFS Inc. sold 19.5 million shares in Avis at $17 each. The shares rose $5.50 to close at $22.50 on the New York Stock Exchange today, according to Bloomberg News.

Fueling the rise is the 52 percent increase in industry leader Hertz's stock since it went public in April. Also, the No. 2 rental company's shares were priced at about 15 times estimated earnings, while Hertz shares trade at about 21 times earnings. "It will do well on the offering because the valuation is very reasonable, but it's not as attractive as Hertz," said Robert Natale, an analyst at Standard & Poor's.

ValuJet returns
with new name, logo

ATLANTA -- Hoping to bury its troubled past, ValuJet Inc. began operating today with a new name, a new logo and fresh paint on its planes.

About 300 of the airline's employees gathered in its terminal at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport to celebrate the relaunching of a carrier whose name was tarnished by the May 11, 1996, crash that killed all 110 people aboard in the Florida Everglades.

The new name is AirTran Airlines. The effort to cast itself in a new light was summed up in a slogan beneath its new logo -- "It's Something Else." The cartoon critter that adorned ValuJet's planes was gone.

AirTran planes are white with accents of navy, green and red on the tail under a small "A" written in cursive.