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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kevin Nicol, general manager for Island Snow and Island Snowboards, held up a snowboard yesterday in the Waikiki store. Island Snowboards is moving to prime ground-floor space at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center from the center's third floor.
Hawaii snowboarding
shop’s success tells
a warm taleAFTER more than 20 years on the third floor of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, Island Snowboards is going downhill. Well, downstairs, more accurately, to prime ground-floor space.
The snowboarding and urban street wear shop is a sister to two Island Snow shops, one in Ala Moana Center and one in Kailua Beach Center. The shops are owned and operated by local parent company Kodama Inc.
"This summer is the 25th anniversary of the company as a whole, so it fits in well with the fact we have another renovation going on at Ala Moana Center," said Kevin Nicol, general manager for the three stores. The Ala Moana location is on the mall level next to the Disney Store.
The Waikiki location is the only one of the three that carries snowboards and snowboarding accouterments, but it is not the only snowboarding shop in Hawaii, which is sort of the 800-pound-gorilla of this column.
Snowboarding shops in Hawaii?
On its face, it seems as out of place as a surf shop in Nebraska, Nicol laughed.
Local interest in snowboarding started primarily with surfers who wanted to try something new in the off-season, but it jumped sharply with the sport's inclusion in the 1998 Winter Olympics. It had previously been considered an extreme sport. Nicol credits growing local interest for sustaining the expanding business.
"Our local customer base deserves a big thank you from Island Snow," he said. With the downturn tourism suffered starting with 9/11, "the support that we've been able to get from the local clientele is what really keeps us alive, keeps us on-point and allows us to develop new things."
The novelty of snowboarding on a volcano in Hawaii attracts some enthusiasts, who are a little deflated upon being told there's no resort atop Mauna Kea. The smile returns to their faces when they're told they can snowboard in the morning and catch some waves the same afternoon.
The shop regularly sells to first-time buyers, but also counts an increasing number of veteran snowboarders among its customers. They come in knowing exactly which snowboard they want, by Burton, LibTech or other snowboard maker.
The shop's Web site www.islandsnowboards.com is not set up for e-commerce yet, but Nicol believes that's not far off. Regular customers with VIP cards can use the site to track points accrued with each purchase and know when they've hit the 500-mark that will net them a $25 gift certificate.
Island Snowboards includes Powder Edge among its competitors, though Powder Edge concentrates on outdoor gear, according to its Web site.
Island Snowboards' first Waikiki shop was small, at 500 square feet. It has since moved into larger spaces of 2,300 and then 3,700 square feet.
"Since the store targets the westbound market and the eastbound, we felt it would be good to relocate" the tenant to a better location, said Marleen Akau, general manager of Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. "They've been doing great sales on the upper level, so we thought we'd give them this opportunity ... we believe they'll do very well there," she said.
Developments such as the December opening of The Cheesecake Factory at the Royal Hawaiian center have increased visitor and local traffic to the center. Some 200 to 300 cars traipse through the parking garage daily.
"Hopefully we'll be able to add to that in the center," Nicol said. Island Snowboards' tentative opening date in the new space is March 22.
The only other locally based retailer on the center's ground floor is Allure, a swim wear shop that moved down from the third floor in February.
"We do have other restaurants and we do have local traffic, but Cheesecake is new, so that's why I guess it's exciting. I'm glad that the locals are coming down to try it," said Akau.
Island Snow Hawaii Inc. incorporated in 1979 for wholesaling and franchising of shave ice and action wear and accessories, according to state records.
Shave Ice is only sold at its Kailua Beach Shop, where employees don't mind if customers still have sand on their feet from the beach.
"Oh not at all," Nicol said.
The shop receives considerable visitor traffic but is a favorite stop for locals, too.
Did the owners intend for the shop to be a kind of community gathering place?
"I think so, because a lot of it has to do with the support they get from the Kailua community. Everybody's so into the fact that we've been there for such a long time. We have regular customers and get to know them on a personal level."
"The kids come after school. You get to know 'em and what they're like, that's the best part," Nicol said.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
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
