CompUSA opening
isle superstore

The Kakaako outlet will be
the state's largest computer store

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

CompUSA Inc. will open the state's largest computer store in Kakaako, making it the latest entrant in Hawaii's retail feeding frenzy.

The Dallas-based computer retailer on Monday signed a 20-year lease with landowner Bishop Estate for its first Hawaii outlet, said Bishop Estate Trustee Henry Peters. The 40,000-square-foot, single-story superstore will be located on the 3.32-acre block bordered by Ala Moana, South, Keawe and Auahi streets, Peters said yesterday.

The new outlet will open by next summer and will create 70 new jobs, he said.

It also will bring new competition to Hawaii's computer market, which is dominated by Tandy Corp.'s Computer City stores. Computer City operates a 16,000-square-foot outlet at Ward Village Shops in Kakaako and a 25,000-square-foot store at the Waikele Center.

"They're going to fight it out," said Marty Plotnick, local marketing analyst and president of Creative Resources Inc. "And I think the Hawaii market will take to (CompUSA)."

CompUSA is just the latest in a growing list of retailers expanding to Hawaii. Department store chains Neiman-Marcus Group Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Fifth Avenue have announced plans for major Hawaii locations while niche retailers including Pier 1 Imports Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Nike Town are opening stores here.

The new CompUSA location will be much bigger than most of the company's mainland superstores, which average about 27,000-square-feet in size. It will stock about 2,000 software titles as well as numerous computer hardware and Internet products.

The store also will feature a multi-classroom training center for business and other customers as well as a CompKids section, which allows children ages 12 and under to sample the latest educational and recreational software.

"We've been aware that they were looking to come into the market for some time," said Tim Archangeli, general manager of Computer City's Ward Village store. Archangeli noted that the Hawaii market has been one of the most successful in Computer City's 89-store network.

According to Peters, the CompUSA building will be located on mauka side of the land parcel and will be fronted by a parking lot on the Ala Moana side.

The new structure will replace the long-vacant Sun Mari building at the corner of Ala Moana and South Street and the Hopaco warehouse next door. A low-rise at the corner of Ala Moana and Keawe Street, formerly occupied by Golf Liquidation shop, also will be razed. Yesterday, construction workers using heavy equipment demolished parts of the old Hopaco warehouse.

Construction costs and the financial terms of the CompUSA lease were not disclosed.

Since opening its first retail store in 1985, CompUSA has grown into one of the largest computer retailers in the nation with more than 133 superstores in 61 major metropolitan markets.

For its fiscal year ending June 29, 1996, the company reported a profit of $59.7 million on sales of $3.83 billion.