Oahu office-space vacancy inches down
The amount of vacant office space on Oahu edged down during the third quarter, according to a survey by commercial real estate firm Colliers International.
Colliers reported that the vacancy rate dipped from 13.6 percent at the end of June to 13.4 percent as of today.
The rate is relatively high, and until this year had been rising from a recent low of 7 percent in 2006.
Colliers predicts that the rate will remain near 13 percent through the rest of the year, reflecting nominal improvement in the office market that typically trails job growth.
The third-quarter vacancy rate represents about 2 million square feet of empty space out of 14.7 million square feet tracked by Colliers. The improvement to 13.4 percent from 13.6 percent represents 38,651 square feet filled by tenants.
Seasonal Price Busters opens at Pearlridge
Price Busters will open a 9,000-square-foot seasonal store in Pearlridge Center on Saturday.
The store is on the second level of Uptown and occupies the former Borders Books & Music space.
Price Busters Pearlridge will stage "Dungeon of Doom," a haunted house, nightly from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 1 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. General admission tickets are $7, and group discounts are available at $5 per ticket.
Bath & Body Works will open at Pearlridge in November, in a 3,350-square-foot space also on the second floor of Uptown, in the former Razor Concepts store. Razor Concepts recently moved into ground-floor space.
Phiten opened on the ground floor of Uptown on Sept. 8.
More stores and eateries are expected to open in Pearlridge in October, including skate/snow apparel and accessories retailer Zumiez, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and Kansai Yamato.
American Airlines threatens court action
DALLAS » American Airlines says if pilots don’t end actions that are disrupting flights, it will take their union to court.
A senior American Airlines executive told union leaders that some pilots were conducting "an unlawful, concerted effort to damage the company" by filing more maintenance complaints, flying circuitous routes and other tactics, all leading to a surge in late and canceled flights.
Denise Lynn, the company’s senior vice president of people, said the pilots’ actions are alienating passengers and threatening the company’s financial prospects, just as American parent AMR Corp. is trying to turn itself around after a decade of huge losses.
The union, which is angry over the company’s decision to use bankruptcy protection to impose new pay and work rules on pilots, said Thursday that there is no sickout or slowdown causing American’s spike in canceled and delayed flights. Allied Pilots Association spokesman Tom Hoban blamed the flight problems on a shortage of pilots and old planes that need frequent maintenance.
Tempur-Pedic snaps up Sealy for $228.6M
NEW YORK » Mattress rivals Tempur-Pedic and Sealy are becoming bedfellows.
Tempur-Pedic, the 20-year-old leader in foam mattresses, is buying more-than-a-century-old rival Sealy for about $228.6 million in cash.
The acquisition comes as competition has increased in the mattress industry, with makers stepping up their marketing and promotions to help lure cost-conscious consumers into making big purchases.
Campbell Soup Co. slashes jobs, 2 plants
NEW YORK » Campbell Soup Co. is closing two U.S. plants and cutting more than 700 jobs as it looks to trim costs amid declining consumption of its canned soups.
The world’s largest soup maker said Thursday that it will close a plant in Sacramento, Calif., that has about 700 full-time workers. The plant, which makes soups, sauces and beverages, was built in 1947 and is the company’s oldest in the country. That also means it has the highest production costs of Campbell’s four U.S. soup plants.
Campbell also plans to shutter a spice plant in South Plainfield, N.J., that has 27 employees. Production will be shifted to the company’s other spice plant in Milwaukee.
Nike income falls as costs, spending rise
BEAVERTON, Ore. » Nike said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter net income fell 12 percent as higher sales of its clothing and footwear brands were offset by increased costs and ad spending.
Results beat expectations, but shares fell 2 percent in after-market trading as investors worried about a slowing of futures orders, which indicate future demand.
Nike, like other consumer products makers, is facing high costs for materials and labor, as well as an uncertain economy in Europe and a slowdown in China. The Beaverton, Ore.-based company has raised prices and cut costs in response.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced:
» Skip White as a previews team member for the firm’s King Street office. Before joining the firm in August, White had 20 years of management, sales and marketing experience.
» Diane Pizarro has joined the firm’s Windward office. Before joining the firm in September 2011, she was editor of Punahou Bulletin at Punahou School.
Hawaii Human Resources, Bowers + Kubota Consulting and Castle Medical Center were honored as Pacific Business News Healthiest Employers in Hawaii. They were honored based on the number of employees who promoted wellness and health in their workplace.
PBS Hawaii has received two new contributions toward its capital campaign to build a new home off Nimitz Highway:
» An anonymous Oahu couple has pledged $50,000 using employer matching funds.
» The George Mason Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation has contributed $25,000 at the recommendation of Dot Mason, fund adviser.
