WAIPOULI — According to a recent study by the Hawai‘i Business Research Library of the Hawai‘i Small Business Development Center Network, Kaua‘i’s economy is back on a firm growth path. The study cited tourism, strength in real estate, construction and
WAIPOULI — According to a recent study by the Hawai‘i Business Research Library of the Hawai‘i Small Business Development Center Network, Kaua‘i’s economy is back on a firm growth path.
The study cited tourism, strength in real estate, construction and non-tourism services as key factors that have contributed to the county’s forward momentum since a decline after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Though still below 1999 peak levels, tourism has largely recovered from the mild slowdown that followed the World Trade Center attack almost two years ago.
In addition to tourism, small businesses on the island have seen an economic recovery which has translated to better sales numbers and more customer traffic.
“We are definitely on a growth pattern,” said Mary Lou Mendes, the owner of five stores at the Coconut Marketplace including Golden Nugget and Island Fever, which opened in May.
“It is still not as strong as it was before 9/11. Customers are little more home-oriented with their purchases. Also, clothing sales have not been as strong as they were before 9/11.”
With moderately strong growth, this year and next promise to be good ones for the local economy.
“It (economic growth) has been a little slow, but is getting better,” said Margie Bautista, store manager of the Gecko Store which has been at the Marketplace for over 11 years.
“We had an increase in sales last month, which is awesome for us.”
While Coconut Marketplace businesses have a fairly positive outlook for the economy with regards to visitor spending, establishments that have a more local customer base have had other concerns.
“From (Hurricane) ‘Iniki to now, our business has grown,” said Pono Market owner Bob Kubota. “But for us, the growth recently has hit a plateau. So we are trying to expand on what we offer to get things moving again.”
Kubota added that 9/11 didn’t have a disastrous effect on Pono Market’s customer traffic and sales.
“It did affect us, but it was short-lived,” he said. “It didn’t last too long.”
In a July survey of 400 businesses statewide including several on Kaua‘i, just 40 percent of owners believed the economy would improve in the coming year.
“In talking with some of the merchants (at the Marketplace), sales have been slow occasionally, although there are busy times,” said Monica Kunioka, manager of Crazy Shirts.
Crazy Shirts has been at the Marketplace for five weeks, moving from Kauai Village.
The business survey, conducted by the Business Banking Council and sponsored by American Savings Bank, was the 12th in a series of economic pulse-taking.
Qmark Research and Polling surveyed 100 businesses statewide in each of four categories: very small businesses with three to nine employees; small businesses with 10 to 49 employees; medium-sized businesses with 50 to 99 employees; and large businesses with 100 or more employees.
Results indicated that optimism about the economy is more prevalent among owners and operators of Neighbor Island businesses than O‘ahu-based enterprises.
“We expect great things in the future,” said Harbor Mall owner Greg Allen. “The customer traffic from the boats down at the harbor has been very good for us, and we have had good sales numbers from both locals and visitors.”
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681, ext. 251, or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
