Honolulu-based retailer Martin & MacArthur, known for its koa wood furnishings and accessories, is opening four stores — including two in Las Vegas — in four months.
Michael Tam, company chief executive officer, said the first store will open Dec. 2 at the Shops at Kukui‘ula on Kauai. Another store will be relocated in Whalers Village on Maui in January, and its first out-of-state outlets in Las Vegas will be in business in February and March.
"We haven’t opened anything in the last two years," Tam said, adding that the last store opened in December 2012 at the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki. "We haven’t just been sitting around thinking, ‘Let’s take a pause.’ We’ve actually been searching for just the right locations, negotiating with landlords."
The retailer currently has 11 stores statewide.
The first Las Vegas location will open Feb. 28 in a new shopping complex called the Grand Bazaar Shops across from Caesars Palace. Another store will open in the third week of March at the Grand Canal Shops in the Venetian hotel. Both are on the Las Vegas Strip.
"We’re looking for very specific locations, very centralized locations with strong traffic," he said. "And we’re looking for locations that have adjacencies with good tenants that are going to be consistent with our brand and our image."
Also, the retailer’s product mix — including iPhone cases, rings, watches and sunglasses — all made with koa has "high interest from people around the world."
"It’s these kinds of products we can offer that’s going to distinguish and differentiate us from everyone else on the Strip," Tam added. "We’re not just going to be another jewelry or clothing store."
The company is investing about $1 million in the four locations, which each will have between six and eight employees.
Tam said he’s been in talks with landlords for at least a year. His strategy is to build partnerships with landlords to potentially get space at other properties. He did just that in the hotel industry, first opening at the Westin Maui, Sheraton Waikiki and then Moana Surfrider.
"That’s the kinds of longer-term partnership that we’re always looking for," he said. "The whole idea is building a strong, mutually beneficial partnership with strong landlords."
The business also is scouting locations in Japan and on the West Coast, as well as more on Oahu and Maui and in Las Vegas. The company is looking to open up to six stores over the next two to three years in Las Vegas, Tam said.
Martin & MacArthur’s furniture accessories are made in Hawaii by craftsmen working out of the company’s workshop in Kalihi. The products are primarily made with koa wood, which is distinguished by its deep rich colors and wavy curls that run across the wood’s grain. Koa grows only in Hawaii, he said.
"No other wood in the world has this," Tam said, adding that the company also builds all the fixtures for its stores, including tabletop displays and earring spinners.
"Nobody else does that."
The company has been building koa furniture for 54 years, first opening in 1961 as a manufacturer before opening retail locations. It has 35 full-time craftsmen and more than 100 employees total. Its first store opened about 20 years ago at Aloha Tower.
