TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Lei Day will be marked with distribution of 2,002 lei in each of 23 cities around the world -- and once again not all the lei will be made from locally grown flowers. Floral foible unavoidable
All the bloomin' flowers won't be from the islands because, "International cities require a phyto-certificate," said Darlene Morikawa, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau North American public relations manager. "It confirms flowers are bug- and pest-free at the time of shipping."
HVCB lei contractor Greeters of Hawaii told Morikawa that Thailand dendrobium orchids are accepted in all 13 international cities where the lei are to be given out: Vancouver, Toronto, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, Sao Paolo, Auckland and Sydney.
Also with local flower demand there is insufficient supply for 46,000 lei, she said.
"We focused the locally grown flowers for the North American cities," Morikawa said.
The bureau and island chapter officials are to give away lei in 10 mainland cities: New York, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
Planning for last year's distribution didn't begin until late February so local growers felt foiled by the floral faux pas. Adding insult to injury last year; the Thai lei were distributed from boxes clearly indicating country of origin, something not explained away by late planning.
The teams are assigned locations similar to Honolulu's Tamarind Square, "a natural draw for business people," Morikawa said. Last year in Arco Plaza in Los Angeles she ran out of lei within 20 minutes. "One person would come down and their whole office would be down," she said, "and the plumerias smelled so good."
Arch support needed
McDonald's Corp. is often held up as an example of efficiency, consistency, marketing and customer service but apparently a bit of metatarsal undergirding is needed for the golden arches.McDonald's Corp. franchisees were told at a worldwide convention last week that the company is looking for a new global marketing officer, according to AdAge.com.
According to the article, unidentified franchisees said McDonald's Chairman and CEO Jack Greenberg acknowledged that "marketing was broken."
Hawaii franchisees and consumers should see business as usual, however, as Tom Ryan, executive vice president of marketing for the United States is to remain in his position.
The change "will not affect day to day operations at McDonald's of Hawaii," said Marketing Manager Melanie Okazaki.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
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