KAHULUI >> Scores of customers -- more men than women -- waited before 6 a.m. this morning for the opening of the first Home Depot on Maui. New Home Depot on
Maui draws a crowdCustomers stock up at the
150,000-square-foot outlet that is
the retailer's first on the island
By Gary Kubota
Star-BulletinMore than 2,000 people, including contractors and their family members, attended a sneak preview of the store last night.
The store, about 150,000 square feet, is about 5,000 square feet larger than the company's first home improvement outlet on Oahu and includes a 20,000-square-foot garden center.
Home Depot spokesman Chuck Sifuentes said the store chain decided to establish an outlet on Maui in light of its commercial and residential growth.
"We're confident we'll do well," he said.
A number of residents were at the store to buy items for new homes or additions to their property.
Kihei resident Jeannine Fliear said she's been to Home Depot in Idaho and looks forward to more competitive prices. "I think it's awesome," she said.
Fliear said she was shopping for light fixtures for her house purchased three years ago.
Basil Millani planned to buy items for a new "ohana" dwelling on his Haiku property, including doors, shelves and a dishwasher.
Some residents were at the store to compare prices with other home improvement businesses on Maui, including the nearby Lowe's.
"I just came to look around," said Kahului resident Conception Tesoro.
The store, with 140 employees, is part of a chain that has 1,183 stores in 48 states, Puerto Rico, seven Canadian provinces, Chile and Argentina.
Home Depot is expanding its Oahu presence with a new store in Pearl City set to open in July. The retailer opened its first Hawaii outlet two years ago in Iwilei.
The company is still scouting locations in Honolulu's central business district, according to Sifuentes, though it recently shelved a bid to buy the Keeaumoku superblock site.