STAR-BULLETIN FILE / SEPTEMBER 2001 A mannequin greets visitors at the Waikiki Duty Free Shoppers store. The company's Hawaii sales contrast its parent's gains.

Isle Duty Free,
Louis Vuitton sales
fail to pick up

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Star-Bulletin Staff and Wire

Sales of Louis Vuitton brands in Hawaii fell 36 percent in the first quarter, the result of a sluggish rebound in isle tourism, the company's Paris-based parent said yesterday.

The drop is in stark contrast to a 12 percent increase for the entire the United States and 11 percent growth in Japan.

Visits to shops are down in Hawaii, Guam and in Asia outside Japan, said Patrick Houel, finance director for LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's largest maker of luxury goods. The company bought control of the parent of DFS Hawaii in 1996 for $2.5 billion.

"We've seen some signs of tourists coming back to our stores in Europe and think that during summer things will be back to normal," Hoeul said in a conference call.

In the first three months of the year, Hawaii's total visitor arrivals from Japan were off by 24 percent from the same period in 2001, bringing overall arrivals down 11 percent, accor- ding to the most recent figures from the state.

At DFS Hawaii, trends in sales from concessions are roughly comparable to that of Louis Vuitton, said Sharon Weiner, group vice president of DFS.