What holiday shopping slump? While corporations admit they were struggling to reach their holiday quotas this year, a few of the locally-owned businesses at Kuku‘i Grove Shopping Center were not inclined to agree, as their sales were comparable to last
What holiday shopping slump?
While corporations admit they were struggling to reach their holiday quotas this year, a few of the locally-owned businesses at Kuku‘i Grove Shopping Center were not inclined to agree, as their sales were comparable to last year, if not better.
Whereas many companies at the mall were not able to offer their final numbers due to corporate policy, some of the local businesses were more than willing to share and admitted they did not feel the economic downturn that reportedly occured this season.
Locally owned sweet shops, such as Sweet Pia’s and Kaua‘i Bakery, did well over the holidays, despite what forecasters were predicting.
Dean Nakayama, owner of Kaua‘i Bakery, said his sales were roughly the same as last year. He believes the introduction of a new gift basket contributed to the bakery’s success.
Nakayama also said the bakery kept busy selling treats for those venturing to holiday parties, including the Pumpkin Crunch pie, a local favorite.
Sweet Pia’s was another business that had no trouble selling its product, actually showing an increase in profit compared to 2007.
“Our sales have increased every year for the past four years,” said Robert Topenio, a sales clerk at Sweet Pia’s. “I find it funny actually, considering the crazy things going on out there with the economy.”
Topenio said there was a constanct influx of customers throughout the holiday season and most of them were looking for something homemade or “nifty.”
Offering a full spread of goodies, from See’s Candies to Kaua‘i Chocolate, one of Sweet Pia’s best sellers was a holiday gift basket, which the shop also creates throughout the year for any occasion.
RadioShack, a Mainland company with a location at Kuku‘i Grove, did have a noticable drop in sales, but, according to assistant manager Edward Ong, holiday business was “still good.” He said a drop in customer tickets, or receipts, per day were averaged at about 100 less than last year.
“So, if you have 100 less people buying $50 items, then it really adds up,” Ong said.
Another factor which contributed to the loss in sales this year was the drop in prices on certain items.
“Last year laptops were about $1,200, now you can buy them for $400,” said Ong when describing the reason sales were not up to the $20,000 per day they were last year.
According to reports from SpendingPulse, a macro-economic indicator that tracks national retail and service sales based on sales activity in Mastercard payments, this year proved to be “challenging” for many sectors, including apparel, electronics and luxury items.
Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, combined retail sales were down between 5.5 and 8 percent, and total sales, excluding gasoline, were down 2 to 4 percent compared to the same period last year.
“A difficult economic environment combined with unfavorable weather during the last week of shopping made 2008 one of the most challenging holiday shopping seasons in decades,” said Michael McNamara, Vice President of Research and Analysis, in a statement on the company’s Web site.
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
