Vendors hope for holiday sales at ‘Kokua for Maui’

Carlos Montano, owner of The Sun Spot in Kihei, was among hundreds of Maui vendors who traveled to Oahu to turn the Neal Blaisdell Center into a shopper’s paradise Sunday during the kickoff for “Kokua for Maui Shop &Show Aloha.”

“The fire brought an immediate drop in business, and it still hasn’t come back. Three weeks ago my shop made $75 all week long,” said Montano, whose brick-and-mortar retail store in Azeka Mall carries goods from some 32 other Maui small businesses.

Kokua for Maui Shop &Show Aloha was organized to help the small Maui-based businesses and artists who have been ailing economically in the aftermath of the economic downturn that followed the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires. Organized by the City and County of Honolulu and a host of supportive community organizations and businesses, the effort was designed to help Maui businesses head toward recovery.

Southwest Airlines flew nearly 200 vendors to Oahu for the event.

Kelly Knox, Southwest Airlines’ leader of community support for Hawaii, said in a statement: “We’ve built our ‘Heart for Hawaii’ with a mindset of sustained support and, for Maui this clearly means making this important connection to the Oahu marketplace of visitors and local people for dozens of struggling business owners and vendors.

“Our employees in the islands are showing up at the Kokua event volunteering for their community with the same hospitality we offer in the air and at our airports,” she said.

Kathy Koch, owner of the small business Hikina Creations, was among the Oahu shoppers who came to support Maui at the event.

“I heard about it on Kimie Miner’s Facebook page. She was advertising raising money for Maui and said a lot of vendors from Maui would be there. I felt good about going there, and I did lots of Christmas shopping,” Koch said. “Most of the vendors were so positive and really friendly. You would have never known what they have been through.”

Kapili Akima said he and other band members from Mele Pono were asked to come support the Maui initiative.

“We’re just here to thank everybody who has ever said a prayer, who ever donated physically or mentally,” Akima said. “Especially since we are from Lahaina. This is our mahalo to everyone. We just actually wanted to come and share love.”

Akima said Lahaina has lost so much, but the people are resilient because they help each other.

“Whatever we can do as people from Lahaina to support any of the vendors, we’ll do it. Three of our band members were affected by the fires, and a lot of the vendors here as well,” he said. “This is definitely a platform that the vendors need. They need to rebuild themselves.”

Montano said while the kickoff for Kokua for Maui Shop &Show Aloha provided a great opportunity to network, sales were sluggish. He said that he hopes more publicity gets out about the other events, which are being held in retail venues and could provide an opportunity for better holiday sales. The event will be at the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki today and Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m. It moves to the Kukui Grove Center on Kauai on Saturday, where it will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Holiday sales can make or break a small business, and after the wildfires they are more important to us than ever,” Montano said.

He said retail revenues have dropped on Maui, and other challenges are mounting. Montano said the destruction of retail rental supply in Lahaina has created a demand situation where retail rents are rising. West Maui retailers looking to relocate are now competing with retailers in other locations.