Not everybody doing
the Local Motion

The parent company's court
protection filing follows the
closure of 4 Hawaii outlets

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By Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.com

The Tokyo-based parent of Local Motion Inc. has filed for court protection from creditors in Japan, drawing concern from Hawaii employees and customers.

Sporting goods retailer Minami Corp., which was reportedly in need of cash, sought protection on Wednesday, saying it had debts of $214.3 million, according to the Kyodo news service.

Minami bought Local Motion in 1991 from Robert Burns, who founded the company in Hawaii in 1977. The filing will have no effect on isle assets because Local Motion is a separate company from Minami, said Calvin Maeda, general manager for Local Motion retail.

"We're not in any jeopardy right now," said Ron Serikaku, manager of Local Motion's flagship store in Waikiki. "Everybody's calling us up, 'Is it happening to you guys?'"

Earlier this month, Local Motion closed its Hawaiian Style store in Iwilei and a D-va store at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki, Serikaku said.

Also, on the day before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the firm closed two outlets on Kalakaua Avenue, the Local Motion Girls and the Local Motion International Division stores. Serikaku attributed the closures to slowing Hawaii sales, rather than the parent company's problems in Japan.

Hawaii retailers have been hurting in the aftermath of the attacks.

Sales at Crazy Shirts fell 30 percent after Sept. 11, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents. Crazy Shirts was sold at a bankruptcy auction in October to a local company for $8.25 million plus a percentage of sales.

Since Sept. 11, Local Motion has let go of about 30 employees and now has about 200 workers in Hawaii, Maeda said.

Local Motion has been able to control costs by reducing purchases, Serikaku said.

The firm now has four Local Motion stores on Oahu, four Local Motion stores on Maui, a D-va store at Ala Moana Center and a Kahala Sportswear wholesale line, Serikaku said. Serikaku said there are no immediate plans to close other stores.

Local Motion's 10,000-square-foot Waikiki Central store received international attention in 1999 for posing as the workplace for roommates of MTV's "The Real World." Local Motion paid about $4 million for the land under the store in 1997.

Minami, founded in 1948, suffered from poor sales of ski equipment and other staple products, according to Japan Times Online.

"We feel confident that they will get through this," Maeda said of Minami.