Waikiki gun club
files Chapter 11
The Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club in Waikiki, whose revenues declined in conjunction with the drop-off in Japanese tourists following 9/11, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Hawaii's largest indoor shooting range, registered as Royal Hawaiian Entertainment Inc., said it is unable to pay the $800,000 principal amount in unsecured promissory notes that nine local investors issued to a 23-member shareholders group in a 1997 purchase.
Those notes, which matured on July 8, total $650,000 for 21 of the 23 previous owners, as well as $100,000 to Allen Zecha and $50,000 to Michael Yee. The 14 percent interest on the notes went up to 18 percent on July 8.
The company said its business will continue to operate during its Chapter 11 reorganization.
Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club, one of four gun shooting clubs in Waikiki, is heavily dependent on Japanese tourists and said that group makes up 95 percent of its customers.
"Firearms are outlawed in Japan, so it gives them a safe experience to try it in Hawaii," said Barbara Pascua, president and general manager of the Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club.
Royal Hawaiian, formed in 1989, said in its filing that other problems in the eastbound travel market, such as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the weak Japanese economy, also contributed to declining revenues during the past two years.
But Pascua said business has rebounded this year with the pick-up in Japanese tourists and a stronger yen. She said business has been at pre-9/11 levels during the past two months.
"We're doing really good, cash flow is good and we're going to be operating as usual," she said. "The amount that one person would spend on our range has increased. We may have less customers, but they're spending more."
She said the club is attracting between 80 and 115 customers a day who are spending an average of $75 to $80 apiece.
The 17-lane shooting club, which is in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, said in its filing that revenues fell 13.5 percent to $1.8 million in 2003 from $2.1 million the previous year.
The shooting club, with eight full-time and 10 part-time employees, estimated its assets as between $1 million and $10 million and debts between $500,000 and $1 million.
Royal Hawaiian Shooting Club
www.hawaiishootingclub.com