Developer to bless 17-acre site in Kapolei
Developer Forest City Enterprises Inc. is blessing a 17-acre site in Kapolei slated to become 499 rental loft apartments in a Friday ceremony scheduled to feature a Kapolei High School hula performance along with comments from Gov. David Ige, project officials and others.
Forest City began site work for the $140 million project called Kapolei Lofts in October. The project is expected to be finished in August 2016, with initial homes ready this fall.
Target to shutter 133 stores in Canada
MINNEAPOLIS » Target is giving up on its money-losing foray into Canada after just two years, closing 133 stores and cutting loose more than 17,000 employees.
Target said it didn’t see how it could stop losing money before at least 2021 on its first international expansion.
What went wrong? Cracking the Canadian retail market, about one-tenth the size of the U.S. and right next door, looks simple. Target’s difficulties show it’s not.
There are costly regulations. In addition, most Canadians live near the U.S. border, compare prices religiously and are willing to shop in the U.S. to save money.
There’s also increasing competition. Canadian standbys like Dollarama and Canadian Tire are formidable rivals. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc., already the biggest retailer in Canada, cut prices to fend off Target.
Xiaomi’s new phone targets iPhone users
BEIJING » Rising smartphone star Xiaomi is moving upmarket and taking aim at Apple’s iPhone.
The Chinese manufacturer known for ultralow-priced handsets on Thursday unveiled a new model that Chairman Jun Lei said is comparable to Apple’s iPhone 6 but thinner, lighter and much cheaper. The phone starts at $375, less than half the $865 price of an iPhone 6 in China.
Xiaomi, founded in 2010, passed South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. in the second quarter of last year as the best-selling smartphone brand in China by number of handsets sold.
IN THE NEWS
HECO to brief lawmakers on rooftop solar backlog
Hawaiian Electric Co. will update state lawmakers at a briefing Tuesday on progress in clearing the backlog of rooftop solar systems awaiting approval.
In September 2013 HECO began requiring customers to get its approval before photovoltaic systems could be connected to the grid, leaving many solar customers faced with long delays.
In October, HECO committed to clearing the backlog by April. An update on HECO’s progress after the October announcement will be discussed during the briefing.
Presenting will be Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Hawaii PV Coalition and the Alliance for Solar Choice. The hearing is at 1 p.m. at the state Capitol in Conference Room 329.
ON THE MOVE
The following three community leaders were elected to Hawaii Pacific University’s Board of Trustees:
>> Doris Ching is an emeritus vice president for University of Hawaii at Manoa Student Affairs and served 42 years as an educator, UH faculty member and leader in Hawaii. Ching also was the first woman of color and first Asian/Pacific Islander elected president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and NASPA Foundation.
>> Howard Kam has served as a managing director for TRUSTA, an Accountancy Corp., since 1983. He has 35 years of professional accounting experience and retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
>> Lance Wilhelm serves as chairman of the Kamehameha Schools Board of Trustees and has recently joined Irongate as its managing principal to oversee current and future development operations in Hawaii.
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced the following employees who have joined the firm’s Kapolei office as independent agents:
>> Lamont A. Scott, a Realtor, was previously working for Marlene’s Realty.
>> Paris Monti, a Realtor associate, previously worked for C21 All Islands.