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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Wednesday, March 1, 2000

Marketing group honors Hilo Hattie

Aloha-wear retailer Hilo Hattie has been named 1999 Marketer of the Year by the Honolulu chapter of the American Marketing Association. The AMA, citing the company's record of success, will present the award at a luncheon April 20 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The association said Hilo Hattie has grown despite intense competition, to the point where it serves more than 2.5 million customers a year and attracts 30 percent of Hawaii's tourist market. Hilo Hattie also was recognized for its campaign over the last two years to attract Hawaii consumers.

BellSouth, SBC talk about wireless link

NEW YORK -- BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., two powerful regional phone companies, are discussing combining wireless phone operations to create a nationwide network, the Associated Press reported today.

The duo is discussing forming a joint-venture company combining SBC's 11 million customers in the Southwest, Midwest and California together with BellSouth's 5 million customers in the Southeast, the AP reported, citing a person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The strategy is patterned after a joint venture announced last year between Bell Atlantic Corp. and Vodafone Airtouch Plc, which created the nation's largest wireless phone company. A deal between Atlanta-based BellSouth and San Antonio-based SBC is expected to be signed within the next weeks, the source said.

In other news . . .

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- FedEx Corp.'s Federal Express, the world's largest overnight-shipping company, plans to charge 1 percent more, starting April 1, for most domestic and international shipments to make up for higher fuel costs. The increase follows a 3 percent boost on Feb. 1.