Kukui Grove turns to Twitter

LIHU‘E — There were so many cars at Kukui Grove Center over the holidays, the management turned to Twitter to help shoppers find a parking space.

Jonell Kaohelauli‘i, the shopping center marketing manager for CB Richard Ellis, said the mall hosted a number of holiday events and combined with holiday specials being offered by the mall tenants, there was a lot of traffic.

“The response from customers was positive,” she said. “Some of the customers picked up on what we were doing and added to the Twitter site. That was appreciated by customers who were looking for parking. This was the first time we’ve had to do Twitter.”

Overall, Kaohelauli‘i said Kukui Grove Center, the largest mall on Kaua‘i, fared a lot better than expected.

“I stopped in at different merchants and some said transactions were the same or better than last year while some said it was not as good as last year,” she said. “But without any final figures, it looks like sales are a little ahead of last year. Sales transactions were up and it was a pretty positive holiday season.”

Kaohelauli‘i said Black Friday ignited the holiday activity.

“Sears opened at 4 a.m. with a line at the door; Starbucks opened earlier to accommodate those stores opening early; Macy’s and Deja Vu also opened earlier than normal with specials,” she said. “Combined with the Christmas parade and other events, the (Thanksgiving) weekend was pretty strong.”

Through the holiday retailing period, Kaohelauli‘i said the combination of merchant marketing and holiday events drew traffic to the mall.

“Macy’s downsized this year, but were pretty busy with the one-day sales. They had Island School helping with gift wrapping. Other merchants who appeared strong were the jewelry stores, Claire’s, the Sunglass Hut and Deja Vu,” she said. “Kmart and Borders were also pretty busy leading up to the holidays, starting with the three-day sale.”

She said the opening until midnight by Kmart as well as having some of the Sears  merchandise in its stores might have contributed to the strong traffic.

Times Supermarket, who recently dedicated its transition from Star Market, also appeared to do well.

“I’ve been in there a few times and the pricing is starting to change and they’re putting the Times stamp on a lot of things,” Kaohelauli‘i said.

Patrons arriving on cruise ships, which came more frequently during the holidays, added to the mall traffic.

“Half of the traffic generated from Boat Days are ship employees who come to the mall because they need to replace things and there is a free shuttle they can use to get here,” Kaohelauli‘i said.

The Monday Markets continue to be a strong force each week and the opening of the Kaua‘i Community Market at Kaua‘i Community College has not adversely affected the mall market.

“There has been little drop off from the KCC market opening,” Kaohelauli‘i said. “There are a couple of spaces which opened up, and we’re always accepting temporary day permits for the Monday Market.”

Top on the list of things to do in 2010, Kaohelauli‘i said they have been in conversation with people in an attempt at trying to fill the vacancies at the mall.

“It’s been difficult because the (national) people we’ve talked with say it would be hard on them to open another store while the other stores in their inventory are suffering,” she said. “Our long term plans are to try and fill the vacancies.”

The mall is looking to add a sit-down restaurant to supplement the food court. As openings have occurred, Kaohelauli‘i said they are relocating other merchants and tenants so they are in a position to offer larger spaces to the interested parties.

Kukui Grove will also continue to be aggressive in the marketplace, one of the areas of marketing which will get attention is the Internet and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

“We have a Web site which was set up in 2007 and we’ve done little to upgrade it other than keep the events current,” Kaohelauli‘i said. “We get about 2,500 hits on that site so we need to put some work into it, and with the response on Twitter (over the holidays), we will be looking at those avenues.”

The next event on Kukui Grove’s calendar is the free Martin Luther King Day celebration from 10:45 a.m. until 1 p.m., Jan. 18.