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Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

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  • Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

    Maybe Hilo Hattie should rename itself "Beijing Brenda" or "Taiwan Teresa". Due to the high cost of materials and labor, Hilo Hattie will be laying off approximately 20 people who produced garments in March of next year. HH had been slowly moving all of its clothing manufacturing offshore, but now only the design studios will remain in Hawai'i.

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

    From the PBN link:
    ...CEO John Reed. He said the closure is the final leg of a "long process" of trimming expenses by moving manufacturing offshore.
    [...]
    The chain's flagship location will move from Nimitz Highway to the newly refurbished Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center next year.
    Hmmm...red flag! Isn't there a real possibility that rent at the RHSC in Waikiki (vs the current Iwilei location) will easily offset a rather large chunk of expense trimming? I guess HH will no longer need the shuttles and drivers. Regardless, Waikiki commercial space is soooo expensive. I wonder if the square footage will be scaled down. Obviously HH isn't going into that lease blindly. Still...

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    • #3
      Re: Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

      Originally posted by tutusue View Post
      Obviously HH isn't going into that lease blindly. Still...
      No doubt, but I have to wonder if traffic won't pick up. After all, how many people would be willing to grab a shuttle to go to *one* store as opposed to walking down the block?

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      • #4
        Re: Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

        I'm sure they did their math. While rent at the Waikiki location may be sky-high, you need to factor in location, exposure, increased potential number of customers, upbranding of image. And as you've mentioned, you do remove some of the other costs such as the shuttles. More positives than negatives in their books.

        The offshoring of the garment manufacturing process is actually a surprise, a surprise in that it took them that long to do it. This isn't a knockdown on those employed in that division but the US long ago lost their competitive edge in the garment industry. If this keeps Hilo Hattie viable and afloat in the business world, it's acceptable.

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        • #5
          Re: Hilo Hattie closing Honolulu plant

          Originally posted by GeckoGeek View Post
          No doubt, but I have to wonder if traffic won't pick up. After all, how many people would be willing to grab a shuttle to go to *one* store as opposed to walking down the block?
          The potential for increased traffic was my thought, too. It's a risk but probably one worth taking. Still, I'd love to know the square footage and the price per square foot at Iwilei and RHSC!

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