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Bearly Doing Business
Walking through Ala Moana Center recently, I passed the space formerly occupied by JC Penny's, which is now the epicenter of some major construction work. And according to the signs, one of the stores slated to move in is the Build A Bear Workshop. (Entertainingly, their current store locator tells me that "San Francisco Shopping Centre is only 2395 miles away!")
Now, Ala Moana was briefly the home of Hanai Bear, a local bear-making establishment that was most likely inspired by the mainland franchise. The Star-Bulletin profiled them in March 2002, and the Advertiser caught up with them in June 2003 after their move to Pearlridge. Cheaper rent, more space, fewer tourists, but more military families...
So provided the Build A Bear folks aren't especially litigious, the Hanai Bear folks need to worry most about competition. Will Hanai Bear retain a "local" flavor and therefore a segment of the business that Build A Bear won't? Is there room in the Honolulu market for two very specialized stores like this? Let alone one?
Good luck, in any case, to the Reynolds/Yamada clan. Sounds like they were onto something.
Now, Ala Moana was briefly the home of Hanai Bear, a local bear-making establishment that was most likely inspired by the mainland franchise. The Star-Bulletin profiled them in March 2002, and the Advertiser caught up with them in June 2003 after their move to Pearlridge. Cheaper rent, more space, fewer tourists, but more military families...
So provided the Build A Bear folks aren't especially litigious, the Hanai Bear folks need to worry most about competition. Will Hanai Bear retain a "local" flavor and therefore a segment of the business that Build A Bear won't? Is there room in the Honolulu market for two very specialized stores like this? Let alone one?
Good luck, in any case, to the Reynolds/Yamada clan. Sounds like they were onto something.
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