Study into ‘big box’
firms inconclusiveNot enough data exist to say
if the retailers have been good
for Hawaii, an official says
Whether "big box" retailers are good or bad for Hawaii is not easily determined, according to a new report prepared for state lawmakers.
The lawmakers asked the Legislative Reference Bureau to study the effects of big-box retailers like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Ross and Old Navy on local small and medium retail businesses, determine their positive effects on the local community and report its findings prior to tomorrow's start of this year's legislative session.
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The bureau was to base its report largely on data and analysis provided by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. The state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations and the Department of Taxation provided employment and tax figures.
However, much of the information requested of DBEDT is extremely difficult to reliably estimate and requires original research the department did not have the time or resources to complete, according to a letter from DBEDT Director Ted Liu.
That research would include determining the residency of small and medium retail businesses, establishing criteria to identify which ones are in competition with big-box retailers and singling out that competition as the cause of a business's failure.
In addition, economic models measure the impact of particular industries, not particular segments of industries like big-box retailing, Liu said.
According to state tax and labor figures, the big-box retailers the lawmakers identified had combined annual average employment of 6,881 in 2002 and 6,364 in 2001 and paid $139 million in wages in 2001.
In 2002 those retailers paid more than $1.3 million in property taxes on Oahu and $673,160 on the Big Island. Maui and Kauai counties did not provide property tax figures for the report.
