Glitch closes
Ala Moana Sears

Sears at the Ala Moana Shopping Center closed its doors yesterday for about an hour on one of the busiest holiday shopping days of the year because of a computer malfunction.

The store closed from about noon to 1:15 p.m. because of a "price look-up problem," said Sears-Ala Moana General Manager Jon Kawata.

Kawata could not say how much the store may have lost because of the closure.

Customers in the store were allowed to stay during the closure, but new shoppers weren't allowed in.

Those who didn't want to wait until the computers went back up were allowed to put any items they had wanted to buy on hold and come back to purchase them.

The store agreed to honor any special timed bargains that may have expired once the shoppers returned.

He said the store has had computer problems in the past, but none this bad.

The store expects to undergo a computer overhaul today, he added.