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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Speedo’s reduces prices
30 percent in store closureHAWAII'S only Speedo Authentic Fitness store, at Ala Moana Center, is preparing to close by the end of April. As such, it is selling off its inventory at a 30 percent discount -- to credit card customers only. No cash, no checks, "It's company policy, since we're closing," an employee told TheBuzz.
Speedo parent company Warnaco Group Inc., headquartered in New York, announced in December that it will close its 44 Speedo stores.
The company will focus on its core Speedo wholesale business, but will continue to operate its e-commerce Web site at www.SpeedoUSA.com. The stores account for less than 5 percent of the overall sales of Warnaco's Swimwear Group, which includes the Catalina and Cole of California trademarks and licenses for the Anne Cole, Nautica, Lifeguard and Calvin Klein swim wear brands. Warnaco also owns and licenses other apparel trademarks.
An undisclosed number of the Speedo stores will be converted to sell Calvin Klein underwear, but whether the Ala Moana location will be one of them has yet to be decided, said company spokesman Doug Morris.
He did not know the number of employees that would be affected by the store's closure or reconfiguration.
Information is not flowing freely from the parent company, which has yet to inform Ala Moana Center management of its intentions, according to General Manager Dwight Yoshimura. He heard about Warnaco's plans in December and sent off a letter, but has not received a response.
He is fairly certain that the Ala Moana location is among the company's more successful, Yoshimura said. If Warnaco does not convert the store to the Klein line of unmentionables, or sell its lease, "We have alternatives. It's a nice corner location," he said. The 1,200 square foot space is on the Diamond Head-mauka corner of the ground floor.
Insiders only
Guest Informant launches a new publication tonight at an invitation-only Mahalo Party at Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar at Restaurant Row.Oahu Concierge Informant will be distributed free to concierges from 30 Oahu hotels. There are also Big Island, Kauai and Maui versions of the Concierge Informant. Guest Informant is a hard-cover, in-room guide for visitors; its new sibling is for those who serve visitors.
"It is advertising supported. Basically we offer that added value to current Guest Informant advertisers," said Publisher Patti Ruesch. "It differs from Guest Informant in that we customize it especially for hotel concierges. It has important phone numbers and contact information," she said.
As an added feature for some of the concierges, pictures of the winners of Guest Informant's Aloha Spirit awards are featured in the hard-cover annual publications and are island-specific. That's a lot of customization for the printing plant.
"They hate me right now, but don't print that," Ruesch laughed.
"The hotel industry and the concierges are our focus, so whatever we can do to make their jobs easier," she said.
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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, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com