It will be the middle of next month before the sale of Liberty House to Federated Department Stores Inc. is finalized. It is likely to be much longer before the only store announced to be closed as a result of
It will be the middle of next month before the sale of Liberty House to Federated Department Stores Inc. is finalized.
It is likely to be much longer before the only store announced to be closed as a result of the sale, the Liberty House Coconut Marketplace resort shop in Waipouli, actually closes its doors for good.
It was business as usual at the Marketplace and Kukui Grove Liberty House locations earlier this week when the sale agreement was formally announced in Honolulu.
Employees at the Waipouli location said they have still not been given word of when the store will close its doors, and Jill Osaka, with Macy’s West’s press relations office in San Francisco, confirmed yesterday that a decision on when to close the store hasn’t yet been made.
After the Tuesday announcement of the sale agreement, Jeremiah “Jerry” Sullivan, chairman of Macy’s West, said for at least the next three months it will largely be “status quo” for the 12 department stores and seven resort and specialty shops in Hawai’i and Guam carrying Liberty House signs.
“For the first 90 days, we want everyone to stay the course,” said Sullivan.
Eventually, the Liberty House locations will all become Macy’s West stores, with the exception of the Marketplace location, which will close. The three Marketplace Liberty House employees will be offered work at the Kukui Grove location, Osaka reaffirmed yesterday.
Macy’s, and as of next month Liberty House, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Department Stores, Inc. Federated’s headquarters is in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The sale is not expected to impact operations at Kukui Grove, though Macy’s executives did say every Liberty House store will be examined with an eye towards physical improvements designed to make them the best possible shopping and working environments for customers and employees, respectively.
“The employees are the greatest asset and our direct link to customers, and we are committed to working with them to ensure a smooth transition,” Sullivan said.
“We are committed to being Hawaii’s No. 1 retailer, not just in terms of merchandise, but also in our commitment to the community and being an integral part of Hawaii’s day-to-day lifestyle,” he added.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
