Victoria’s Secret will stage the grand opening of its second Hawaii store at 2230 Kalakaua Ave., near Royal Hawaiian Avenue in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, today at 10 a.m.

The retailer is known for its lingerie, lounge wear, fragrances, beauty products and hardly least of all, its models.

Its doors have been open since Thursday, as have those of neighboring designer clothing retailer Armani Exchange, or A|X, both following Hawaiian blessings. A|X’s grand reopening, also open to the public, will be Thursday.

The grand openings come days after Ross Dress for Less held its grand opening on Friday steps away at the former Waikiki 1 and 2 Theatres on Seaside Avenue.

Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio has come to Hawaii for the grand opening as well as for "de rigueur" photo shoots on the beach. She will make an in-store appearance from 6 to 8 p.m., will pose for pictures with customers, limited to one shot each, and will sign autographs. The store is offering on-site uploading of the photos to social media sites.

At two stories and 16,000 square feet, the new Victoria’s Secret store is not much smaller than the 20,000-square-foot Ala Moana Center store that opened Oct. 1, 2009. The average Victoria’s Secret store is just less than 6,000 square feet.

The chain’s sales promotions regularly have a line of eager customers snaking out the doors and around Ala Moana Center’s mall level.

"Victoria’s Secret has been doing gangbusters here," observed Stephany Sofos, appraiser and retail consultant based in Waikiki. The Ala Moana store likely has "one of if not the highest sales per square foot in their chain," she said. "Armani, too."

Sofos predicts great success for the Waikiki location of Victoria’s Secret, and continued success for Armani Exchange in its new, larger quarters. "Both of them are very, very successful concepts."

Victoria’s Secret caters to every type of woman, she observed, "even frumpy 50s," who love nice lingerie. "A good bra is going to cost $50 anywhere, and if it’s red and has a little lace, you’re going to feel good," she said.

A|X, a lower-end but not cheap line of apparel branched off the luxury Armani brand, appeals to hip and trendy people and Asian visitors who appreciate fashion and clean lines, Sofos said. "People will buy the best because it lasts the longest."

The new A|X store is 12,000 square feet on two levels of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza on Kalakaua at Seaside, nearly twice the 6,300-square-foot size of its previous home in the Waikiki Business Plaza, said Darren Seu, who handles marketing for both properties.

Its grand opening, from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, will include cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Guests will be offered a limited-edition A|X Armani Exchange Waikiki T-shirt with each purchase, as well as a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree. Guests are asked to email a reservation to rsvp@nashimoto.com, according to the store’s invitation, posted on the Waikiki Shopping Plaza Facebook page.