Hermes to add
Ala Moana spotThe pricey retailer will also
expand in Royal Hawaiian
Declining travel from Japan hasn't deterred luxury retailer Hermes from opening new stores in Ala Moana Center and Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.
Behind the decision to go to Ala Moana for the first time is a recognition of the market the international business has in Hawaii for its handbags, scarves and other items, said Robert Chavez, president and chief executive of Hermes of Paris Inc.
"We do have a large local client base," New York-based Chavez said in an interview. As a luxury retailer, Hermes has a large Japanese customer base too, which has always worked well for it in Hawaii. The Waikiki store has always had business from mainland tourists, too, he said.
"The market for us in Honolulu has always been very, very strong. Yes, of course, we've gone through our fair share of downturns and decreased tourist arrivals, but we benefit from a very loyal client base both locally and internationally," Chavez said.
"We really believe in the future of the market in Hawaii," he said.
Hermes will open its 4,450-square-foot Ala Moana store June 4, on the center's mall level near the central escalators, between Gucci and Reyn-Spooner.
In Waikiki, it is temporarily in a small store at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center while its original location is being rebuilt for the new Cheesecake Factory.
In about a year, Hermes will move into a 5,500-square-foot store in the center, opposite the DFS Galleria.
"It's almost twice the size of the existing shop which we have sorely outgrown over the past 14 years," Chavez said.
"Most of the major luxury houses have a presence in Waikiki and Ala Moana. It took us a while, but we finally made it (to Ala Moana)," he said.
Among other things, Hermes will celebrate its Ala Moana opening with the launch of a special "Ala Moana 2003" edition of its "aloha scarf," featuring palm trees, flowers and other Hawaii attractions.
There will be only 100 of them and they will go for $270 each. There also will be 100 "Picotin" bags, at $1,500 each, in a limited edition made for the opening. Hermes said the design is based on an "equestrian feed bag."
Hermes was started in Paris in 1837 as a harness and saddlery business. In the 1920s, the family business expanded into saddle-stitched leather goods, adding handbags and luggage, and set the stage for today's Hermes by introducing clothing, scarves, belts, jewelry and wrist watches.
Hermes sold its products in the United States starting in the late 1920s and opened its first independent store in America in 1930 in New York.