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A sprawling Japan-based convenience store chain, Lawson Inc., will open two Honolulu outlets in June, according to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. The two stores are a test, following which Lawson might open as many as 50 stores, the paper reported.
There were nearly 10,000 Lawson stores in Japan at the end of February 2011, with another 319 in China, but fiscal 2011 results to be reported today might include a larger store count.
The ubiquitous convenience store chain was established in 1975 as Daiei Lawson Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Daiei Inc.
Now, nearly four decades and dozens of business changes later, the publicly traded, Tokyo-based company operates stores in differing formats, including Lawson; Natural Lawson, offering health-conscious organic food; and Lawson Store 100, offering small portions of vegetables, dairy and fresh products. Its website includes a "Happy Blog," written in Japanese.
America’s most familiar c-store chain, Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc., was founded in 1927 as The Southland Ice Co., and several generations and business changes later has 44,700 stores in 16 countries, including 9,100 in the U.S.
Hardware Hawaii shifting assets
Venerable Hawaii retailer and contractor supply store Hardware Hawaii is phasing out its Kaneohe store at 46-184 Kahuhipa St., with a moving sale now under way.
The plan is to move to a larger space at its Kapolei distribution center at 110 Uu Place, said President David Lundquist.
The Kaneohe facility is sort of split in two — its retail warehouse is about 6,000 square feet, and its lumber warehouse measures about 7,500.
"What we’re really doing is moving our resources to the new flagship location in Kapolei," he said. The company bought the 7.3-acre Kapolei site years ago.
"We spent $15 million developing (the Kapolei facility), and for years now it’s been our distribution center," Lundquist said. It has a nearly 50,000-square-foot warehouse and "a huge parking lot," across from what is now Costco.
"All along we planned on it being a hardware store, and then the recession happened," he said.
When opened the Kapolei location’s retail space will take up about 22,000 square feet, nearly as large as the Kailua store, but Kapolei’s parking lot is bigger.
The lease for the Kaneohe location is for sale, and parties are interested, he said. Hardware Hawaii’s departure date from Kaneohe depends on when the lease is sold.
The Kapolei operation "is going to be a fabulous store, but we couldn’t do both," Lundquist said. "We had to make a choice."
He added, "The hardest part is that our customers in Kaneohe are loyal customers, and over the years we’ve found that many of them, if not most of them, also do shop at our Kailua store and Mapunapuna store."
Those who don’t frequent Windward Oahu may be amused to know that competing hardware store City Mill is right across Kahuhipa Street from Hardware Hawaii. A few minutes away, at 45-552 Kamehameha Highway, is Ed Yamashiro Building Supply Inc.
The kamaaina company plans a fall opening for the new Kapolei retail operation "with the same Hardware Hawaii brand of customer-first service," Lundquist said.
Long in the planning, employees at the Kaneohe store have been offered options to stay with the company, and only three of 16 have made other plans.
The opening of the Kapolei store will likely create some new positions. One of the company’s cashiers at the Kailua store catches the bus from Kapolei and now will be able to work closer to home, Lundquist said.
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
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