Aloha, Target
Last October, Target Corp. announced it had scaled back its 2009 store-opening plans, canceling some projects “that no longer make financial sense,” said CFO Doug Scovanner.
But Kapolei, Hawaii’s fastest-growing region and a robust economic center, makes sense to the Minneapolis-based retailer. The company opened its first Hawaii store in early March at Kapolei Commons, a 610,000-sq.-ft. shopping/dining/entertainment center positioned at the intersection of Kapolei Parkway and Kalaeloa Boulevard in the vibrant Kapolei area of West Oahu.
A joint venture of The Kobayashi Group and The MacNaughton Group, both headquartered in Honolulu, Kapolei Commons is also the setting for Petco’s Hawaiian debut.
According to Eric Tema, partner, MacNaughton Group, Kapolei is a natural choice for the mainland’s major retail players.
“Kapolei has been growing for 25 years and is now really reaching critical mass and efficacy as an alternative to Honolulu,” Tema said. “Because of this, Target and Petco and our other tenants saw the opportunity to serve both the resident and business populations of this region.”
Other tenants in the project’s first phase include Ross Dress for Less, which opens in fall 2009; Price Busters with its Let’s Party store-within-a-store concept; Verizon Wireless; Vitamin Shoppe; and Bank of Hawaii.
Phase 2 features a Regal Cinemas 15-plex, a lineup of restaurant concepts, and both national and local retailers. Phase 3 will feature a Main Street-style design with a mix of national, regional and local retailers along with abundant outdoor seating and family-friendly amenities that use the tropical weather and setting to full advantage.
“Like with most well-planned projects in Hawaii, the climate and natural beauty are really the driving forces behind the design,” said Tema. The developers are seeking to create an inviting open-air center with a dynamic tenant mix and comfortable gathering places, he added.
Hawaii has been surprisingly insulated from the economic troubles in the 48 contiguous states, Tema explained, largely because it is underserved in retail concepts.
“We just do not have the retail space or the tenant pool in which to showcase all the brands that you see in mainland markets,” he said. Plus, it’s a challenging market to call home.
“There are barriers to doing business in Hawaii and, therefore, it is typically a location for mature companies that have significant presence nationally or on the West Coast,” he said. Those that do come are handsomely rewarded—with higher average unit volumes and fewer competitors.
Tema and his team don’t underestimate the power that Target brings to Kapolei Commons.” The real driver to our momentum is the introduction of Target to Hawaii,” he asserted. “No tenant has been more requested over the years, and their performance to date has proven the depth of demand for their goods.”