Pier 1 Imports to open 2 new Hawaii stores

Pier 1 Imports said it will open new stores in Lihue and Kapolei this month.

The Lihue store will open May 16 at Kukui Grove Center and will be the first Pier 1 on Kauai. The 8,470-square-foot store will employ about 25 workers, the company said.

The Kapolei store will open May 23 at Kapolei Commons. It has 7,154 square feet and will employ about 30 workers, the Fort Worth, Texas-based Pier 1 said. The first 300 shoppers at the Kapolei store on May 23 will be given a free reusable bag and a back-scratcher. The store will open at 9:30 a.m.

Teddy’s Burgers expanding to Philippines

Hawaii-based Teddy’s Bigger Burgers will expand to the Philippines with nine stores set to open in the next three years. The first store will open July 18 at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.

The expansion is possible through a franchise agreement between Hawaii-based Teddy’s founders Ted Tsakiris and Rich Stula, and High Jap Group, their Philippines franchisee.

The next possible location will be in Newport Mall in Resorts World Manila, according to High Jap official Ricky Laudico.

Teddy’s has 11 locations in Hawaii, with its first store at the foot of Koko Head having opened in 1998. Its mainland stores are in Washington state and Iowa, with additional locations planned for California and Texas. Its first international location is operating in Japan.

"Opening in the Philippines is beyond anything we could have imagined when we started our first little burger joint,’ Stula said in a statement.

Tsakiris also expressed excitement about launching "Team Philippines."

A&B to begin loft sales for The Collection

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. plans a summer sales launch for loft residences in a four-story building fronting a parking garage at its planned Kakaako condominium tower project called The Collection.

The 54 one- and two-bedroom lofts are priced from $335,000 to $580,000.

A&B started sales in August for The Collection’s 397 tower units, and recently reported having sold more than 60 percent of those units.

A third phase of sales has yet to be announced for 16 town homes in a three-story building also planned on the property once occupied by a CompUSA store at the corner of South Street and Ala Moana Boulevard.

A&B needs to sell 60 percent of The Collection’s 467 units to begin construction, which the company projects will happen by the end of the year.

Consumer borrowing rose $17.5B in March

U.S. consumers increased their borrowing in March by the largest amount in more than a year, using their credit cards and taking out more auto and student loans.

Consumer borrowing increased $17.5 billion in March, up from a gain of $13 billion in February, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. It was the biggest monthly increase since February 2013.

The category that includes auto and student loans rose $16.4 billion, while the category that covers credit card borrowing increased $1.1 billion. The overall increase in consumer debt pushed total borrowing to a record $3.14 trillion.

Gains in borrowing are seen as an encouraging sign that people are more confident and willing to take on debt.

U.S. productivity fell at 1.7% rate in quarter

WASHINGTON » U.S. productivity fell in the first quarter while labor costs rose, reflecting the economic slowdown caused at the start of the year by harsh winter weather.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that productivity declined at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the January-March period, after growing at a 2.3 percent rate in last year’s fourth quarter. The falling productivity coupled with a slight increase in hourly compensation led to labor costs rising 4.2 percent in the first quarter. Labor costs had fallen in the previous two quarters.

Economic growth stalled in the first three months of this year, increasing just 0.1 percent, according to initial estimates by the Commerce Department. Freezing temperatures and snow storms disrupted growth.

Mondelez, D.E. Master to join coffee units

DEERFIELD, Ill. » Mondelez and D.E. Master Blenders will link their coffee businesses together as Mondelez concentrates increasingly on its snack foods division and cost-cutting. The deal is part of a $3.5 billion restructuring program underway at Mondelez that is projected to create $1.5 billion in savings by 2018.

Mondelez, which makes Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, Trident gum and Cadbury chocolate, split from Kraft Foods Group Inc. in late 2012. The newly formed coffee producer will sell Gevalia, Tassimo and Jacobs, which are Mondelez brands, and Senseo and Douwe Egberts from D.E. Master Blenders, formerly the Sara Lee coffee business.

The new company will be called Jacobs Douwe Egberts and it will be headquartered in the Netherlands.

ON THE MOVE

Architects Hawaii has promoted:  

» Joel Ganotisi to associate from project architect. He joined the company in 2004 and has 15 years’ experience working as a project architect.

» Myles Michibata to associate from project architect. He has 13 years of experience in design and focuses on federal, state and municipal government projects.

» Ethan J. Twer to associate from project architect. He has 18 years of experience in design and construction projects.

» Louie Dela Cruz Jr. to senior job captain from job captain. He joined the company in 1994 and has more than 23 years of experience.