Macy’s madness Hundreds of local shoppers celebrated the launch of the new Macy's Ala Moana Center department store this morning, marking the traditional beginning of the holiday shopping season.
Hundreds of upbeat shoppers pour
into the Ala Moana store at the openBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.com
On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, customers began gathering outside the front door of the new Macy's Ala Moana Center before dawn -- with a handful arriving more than two hours before the 7 a.m. grand opening.
Despite the economic woes brought on by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the mood was generally upbeat. Shoppers appeared to be buying, as witnessed by the number of red and white Macy's bags carried out of the store.
"The customers have been very appreciative of our coming and they've been stopping by and saying so," said Deena Nichols, Macy's senior vice president and director of its Hawaii stores.
"They've been very warm about receiving us."
Dwight Yoshimura, Ala Moana Center's general manager, estimated that the morning foot traffic in the mall was up 10 percent to 15 percent from the same day last year based on an unofficial survey of merchants and a examination of the mall's parking
"There's no question in my mind that Macy's will add excitement for this season," Yoshimura. "I think this opening is very positive."
This morning's shoppers said they were impressed by the large selection of merchandise, citing the expanded women's shoe department and the larger inventory of women's clothes. They also said they were attracted by the deals.
Linda Teshima and Kevin Inouye said they showed at Ala Moana Center about 5 a.m. today to take advantage of the early morning sale at Kaybee Toys at the center.
The Honolulu residents -- who typically do all of their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving -- said they were not regular Liberty House customers but were was impressed by the bargains offered by Macy's.
"There are some good deals and they have a lot of clearances I wanted to take advantage of," Inouye said.
John and Essie White said they were attracted by the Macy's expanded inventory, especially the larger women's shoe department. John White said he's also glad that Macy's is retaining its selection of Hawaiiana gifts.
"The store is a lot cleaner and there isn't all of this stuff in the aisles," said John White, who has shopped at Macy's during trips to California and New York. "We were loyal Liberty House customers and we're going to be loyal Macy's customers."
Vendors and local retailers also were upbeat about today's store opening.
Local fashion designer Ann Namba, who has sold her products for about a decade, said Macy's has expressed a strong desire to continue selling locally produced goods.
"I think that it's a ray of sunshine," added Carol Pregill, executive director of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii.
"I've been wandering about town for the past six weeks with bad news. This is good news. This is the shot in the arm we need for the holiday season."