With most of its merchandise stacked neatly in place and a full staff of 1,000 on deck, Target Stores Inc. is set for a tandem opening of its first two Hawaii stores in two weeks.

A Sneak Peak At Hawaii’s Target Stores

 

Employees are putting final touches on the Salt Lake and Kapolei Target locations for its grand opening in March.

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Both the Salt Lake Target and Kapolei Target stores will open their doors at 8 a.m. March 4, with a grand opening scheduled four days later.

“;The team is on board and we are excited,”; said Denise Lint, store team leader of the Salt Lake Target. “;We call it (March 4) a quiet Target opening, but I don't think it will be quiet.”;

The Salt Lake store is the largest in Hawaii so far, with 180,000 square feet of sales floor space in addition to another 85,000 square feet of storage space, and 30 checkout stands.

Hawaii residents will barely recognize the store that used to be home to Costco, which now has a two-level parking garage offering 678 parking spaces.

Target customers will be greeted with wide aisles and red plastic shopping carts. To the left will be the “;food avenue”; of Starbucks, Target Cafe (offering musubi, fried noodles and California rolls) and Pizza Hut, followed by the photo department, guest services and a pharmacy.

To the right will be women's swimsuits, with sportswear, accessories and jewelry nearby. In front there will be a selection of Hawaiian souvenirs.

The Minneapolis-based Target will offer goods ranging from beauty products to sports gear, pet items, home decor, outdoor furniture, apparel, electronics, books and CDs, and a “;baby world.”;

The expansive grocery section at the back of the store, now standard in Target's new prototype, will carry private house brands Market Pantry and the more gourmet Archer Farms, in addition to crack seed from Enjoy and Jade. There will be a liquor section, as well.

The Target stores in Hawaii will be different from mainland stores in several ways - they will offer Spam musubi, for one, but also a significantly larger fishing gear section, along with Hawaii books and music (including ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro's first live CD), surfboards, boogie boards and snorkel gear.

Target employees will wear red aloha shirts designed by Tori Richard instead of the standard red polo shirts and khaki slacks they wear at some 1,500 stores on the mainland.

Also, Tori Richard designed an exclusive line - a resurrected brand called Pau Hana - that will be carried only at Target. It includes aloha shirts and cargo shorts and was introduced two weeks ago to 100 U.S. mainland stores, including in Las Vegas, Florida and Southern California, according to Bill Bremner, Target's senior buyer for offshore markets.

Sales of the Pau Hana brand are doing well on the mainland, he said. The patterns and prints on the aloha shirts will change every 60 days.

“;I feel like we partnered with the right person,”; Bremner said.

Other local brands Hawaii residents will recognize include Iolani and Hawaiian Moon dresses in the women's section, floral leis from Watanabe Floral and bath products from Pearl City-based Bubble Shack.

A Kona company, Tatau, will also provide its Hawaiian design T-shirts, while some made-in-Hawaii goods will be available through a partnership with Na Mea Hawaii.

Fishing gear will be provided by Izuo Bros. Ltd., which has been in the isles more than 70 years. The surfboards come from Maui-based New Surf Project.

Target's apparel brands, Converse One Star, GO International, Mossimo and Liz Lange maternity, will also be featured at stores here. A Target gift card, designed especially for Hawaii, features Bullseye, the bull terrier mascot, standing on a surfboard.