CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM At Ala Moana's Disney Store, Cara Owada, left, Bronte Amoy, and Keren Flores stood in a long line to buy their sale goodies.

Ready, set, shop!

» Local retailers report a frenzied start to holiday season
» Malls open to record crowds as shoppers search out discounts

It's still early in the holiday retail game, but if this year's Black Friday is any indication, local merchants have little to fear at the bottom line.

Retailers islandwide reported an increase in foot traffic and unprecedented lines for some stores that nearly circled the block yesterday.

"Going by shoppers' craziness and foot traffic, it sure seems like people are out in droves," Reid Fujita, CEO of the Cinnamon Girl stores.

The sales rush on came against a backdrop of warnings that this year's holiday season could be the worst in years nationwide.

But local retailers are hopeful that those warnings -- driven in large part by mainland real estate woes that have yet to be felt here -- won't apply to Hawaii.

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Cautious isle retailers bracing for the worst found reason for hope yesterday, as shoppers jammed the malls for Black Friday, setting a positive tone for the start of the holiday season.

"Going by shoppers' craziness and foot traffic it sure seems like people are out in droves," Reid Fujita, CEO of the Cinnamon Girl stores at Pearlridge Center, Kahala Mall and Ala Moana Center, said yesterday. "There's no parking at any of the malls."

Thousands of local residents flooded shopping centers across the island, some for the challenge of being the first to snatch up holiday-discount items, others to beat the holiday rush.

Retailers islandwide reported an increase in foot traffic and unprecedented lines for some stores that nearly circled the block.

Hawaii's largest shopping mall, Ala Moana Center, said its merchants reported more customer traffic, longer lines and stronger early-morning sales yesterday compared to the year earlier.

For instance, Macy's at Ala Moana had an estimated 400 people lined up by its 6 a.m. opening, said Matthew Derby, director of tourism & public relations.

Ala Moana officials attributed some of the increased traffic to more merchants participating in mall-wide promotions.

By 8:30 a.m., the center had distributed 4,500 bottles of water, 6,000 directories of where to find holiday sales and 100 $25 gift certificates to customers spending $500 or more as part of its Black Friday promotions, Derby said.

Ala Moana is anticipating a low, single-digit increase in overall sales by year's end.

Cinnamon Girl's Fujita said Hawaii appears to be somewhat isolated from the market pressures on the mainland, where rising fuel prices and the credit crunch are expected to crimp holiday spending this season.

"The national forecast, those guys are looking at such a macro picture," he said. "Hawaii hasn't been hit as hard as a lot of the mainland markets, at least up to this point."

Despite the prediction of soft sales, some shoppers who camped out yesterday morning said their budgets would increase by as much as 50 percent over last year.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM At Ala Moana Shopping Center, shoppers already clutching Disney and Sears bags, were let into the Macy's store at 6 am. There were approximately 300 early morning bargain hunters waiting, and by 8:30 a.m., the center had distributed 4,500 bottles of water.

"It's jammed out here," he said. "We look forward to it being a very good Christmas."

The lines at Pearlridge Center were longer than last year -- in fact, the Circuit City line was the longest that management has ever seen -- according to general manager Fred Paine. Other stores such as GameStop, Sephora and Toys R Us also had off-the-chart lines with people buying multiple items such as Transformer toys, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii game system, he said.

"It seems much more crowded than in years past so hopefully that's a sign of a good season coming up," he said.

Waikele Premium Outlets, which for the first time opened most of its stores at midnight, also saw steady traffic throughout the morning with lines for Coach, Saks Fifth Avenue, Banana Republic and LeSportsac, some of which were ongoing until 8 a.m., said general manager Cherie Martyn.

Meanwhile, Kahala Mall is projecting business to handily exceed 2006 primarily because of last year's flood damage which led to closures at the movie theater and stores for part of last year. Business is up 20 percent over 2006, said general manager Ron Yoda.

Business at Windward Mall was brisk with a consistent flow of people that appeared to be more than last year, said general manager Jonathan Kim.

"It was really packed beyond my expectations," Kim said.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM As shoppers flooded into local malls, retailers forgot about dire sales predictions, at least for the day. At Ala Moana's Disney Store, AJ Bactista helped Lance Vendiola with her purchase.