Tourism blues
plagued malls in June

Star-Bulletin staff

Two top Oahu malls that are heavily dependent on Japanese tourists saw a dip in sales in June compared with June 1996.

But story-telling and educational events for children attracted more shoppers for two suburban malls for the month.

Here's a look at the numbers for June, the most recent month available, provided to the Star-Bulleting by the malls:

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center: Sales fell 14 percent, said Charlian Wright, marketing director. "The decline of visitor arrivals and the value of the yen to dollar continues to plague the visitor market expenditures," she said.

Ala Moana Center: Sales fell 10 percent, said Dwight Yoshimura, general manager. "A lot of it is attributable to the transitional store leasing we've done," he said. For example, he said the junior apparel sales in June were flat because two stores, Hartsfield and Jay Jacobs, have left Ala Moana.

Kahala Mall: Business was up 7.04 percent, said Elizabeth Platt, marketing director. "This was our 22nd consecutive month showing an increase," Platt said. "A lot of it was from our first Keiki Fest, which raised money for the Child and Family Service. We had a lot of families which showed up." The event had story-telling clowns, games, arts and crafts, and educational information.

Pearlridge Center: Sales rose 6.7 percent, said Marty Lastner, general manager. "We had storytelling and local entertainers in June and made preparations for our 'World of Whales' exhibit which started Aug. 15," Lastner said. That month-long event features life-sized robot whales and other marine mammals.

Windward Mall: Sales dropped 7 percent, said spokeswoman Wright. Despite the downturn, she said that special in-store sales and mall sales, plus family-oriented activities with the center, helped increase mall traffic.