CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM The price of apparel jumped 6.5 percent this year in Honolulu, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

CLOTHING:

Stores don’t see
the price hikes

Paying the price

Consumers save at grocery stores

---

By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.com

In the largest percentage gain of all major expenditure categories measured in the Consumer Price Index, apparel prices in Honolulu advanced 3.8 percent during the past six months and moved up 6.5 percent compared with a year ago, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Why the index showed such a big jump in apparel prices for the period after years of declining is difficult to account for, particularly in light of the global move toward "value retailing," said Carol Pregill, executive director of the Retail Merchants Association.

"The stores that are performing best are the value retailers and discounters such as Wal-Mart, Ross, Kmart, Costco," she said.

Moreover, with the number of choices consumers now have in apparel and other retail categories, prices should continue to decrease, Pregill said.

"If anything there is more competition now," she said. "On the surface this doesn't make any sense."

Retail analyst Stephany Sofos said that in certain categories such as more expensive apparel, she has noticed some price increases.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Clothing costs jumped in the past six months, according to Honolulu's consumer price index. Retailers, however, say prices have been held down by discount stores.

"In your higher-level areas and where branding is a consideration such as with Banana Republic, Gap, Luis Vuitton, prices have increased. Shoes have increased, also sportswear," she said.

Moreover, retailers will increase the cost on items they know are selling well, Sofos said.

Higher costs for basic expenses, such as shipping, postage and wages, could also be contributing factors, Sofos said.

"This is a federal study so they are going to be looking at things like labor, shipping and overall manufacturing costs," she said.

Still, the trend in Honolulu, as in other places, is toward value retailing, she said.

"Every consumer is looking for value retailing. It's the trend globally and probably even more so here in Hawaii with the high cost of living," Sofos said.

Hawaii Pacific University economics professor Leroy Laney thought the limited size of the sample could be one reason for the unusually large jump.

"Sometimes in a survey where there is such a small sample, it can be dominated by a certain firm in a certain category, so some of the distorting factors can come through," he said.

"At the national level, there are about 92,000 things they price so most of these things wash out, but if you have a small sample such as Hawaii, then some of the distorting factors might come through."

A lot also depends on the sample and what the surveyors in the field actually price, he said.

"Sometimes, if they can't find an item they will substitute from time to time, but we just don't know that here," he said.