Macy’s to close Kailua outlet

Another longtime retail institution is closing its doors in the burgeoning Kailua community.

Officials at Macy’s department store notified roughly 70 employees that they will shutter the 59,000-square-foot location at 573 Kailua Road next year after the busy holiday season.

“It’s going to be a real problem. I mean, there’s not another store that compares to this store in Kailua,” said Shelia Smith, 53, who was shopping at Macy’s on Thursday afternoon. “I just think it’s going to be very difficult for people. It’s an unfortunate thing for the community, I know, especially for the elderly. A lot of those people can’t get out and go anywhere, so this is really convenient for them.”

Macy’s Kailua first opened as Liberty House in 1946 and converted to the Macy’s brand in 2006.

The retailer has a final clearance sale planned for early spring, spokeswoman Martha Gil De Montes told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an email, but she didn’t give an exact date of closure.

“As the location closes in 2016, we will work to place as many associates as possible in nearby Macy’s stores,” she said. “We are delighted to have been part of the Kailua community over the decades and look forward to continuing to serve our local customers.”

A new Macy’s store is scheduled to open in 2016 in Ka Makana Ali‘i, a regional mall being built in Kapolei. In 2013 the retailer shut its 80,000-square-foot 1032 Fort Street Mall store as part of what the company called “normal-course adjustments to its portfolio.”

Kailua resident Kris Lambert, 67, worked at the store in her 20s when it was Liberty House, and said Macy’s is still the “go-to place for most people” shopping for clothes.

“It is an institution,” she said. “It definitely contributes to the local economy.”

Macy’s “informally indicated” it would not be renewing its ground lease that expires at the end of the year, according to landowner Alexander & Baldwin.

“Obviously, we’re sad to see them go, and we’re actually really disappointed that they chose not to renew,” said Jon Moyer, A&B Properties director of asset management for Kailua. “We will now evaluate our options to make the best use of the space with the goal of retaining the character of the building. It’s important to us that we preserve Kailua’s charm while providing the community a place to gather, and new restaurant and shopping options.”

Aikahi resident Jocelyn Pratt, 59, said she regularly shops at Macy’s and is sad to see it go.

“The thing that’s really interesting with Macy’s, too, of course, is each community has their own blend of merchandise,” she said. “There are things that I kind of think I can find a little bit more simply because it’s Kailua. I come here to look for very specific things. I really try to shop Kailua. I am disappointed (not) just for myself, but I am for the community, too.”

Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc. acquired in 2001 the former Liberty House department store chain, one of Kailua’s first retailers. A&B bought the land under the Macy’s store in 2013 as part of a $373 million sale from Kaneohe Ranch Co. and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation that included 70 percent of the commercial-zoned land in Kailua and other property on Oahu.

Some Kailua residents have been lamenting the changing face of the small-town community over the past few years. In 2011 Don Quijote’s Kailua branch closed its doors, making way for a new Target store.

“I think they have a vision that we’re not privy to,” Lambert said. “I’ll bet you it has to do with the lease rents because that’s what happened to a lot of the local merchants that are at other places around this area. I’m real unhappy with the direction that Kailua is changing into. It’s becoming more tourist-oriented and less oriented towards us local people. I don’t think that it looks like anybody cares about those people who live here.”

Macy’s has 15 stores in Hawaii: eight on Oahu, three on Hawaii island, three on Maui and one on Kauai.

Macy’s presence

Macy’s has 15 stores in Hawaii, including 10 department stores and five specialty stores: