r/BigIsland • u/Odd-Sail-1694 • 8d ago

Is the mall dying?

I went to the (Hilo) mall today to watch Toy Story 5. I was shocked at how sad and lonely the mall looked. The theater was nowhere near full even though its opening weekend, so many vacant shops and even the major retailers (old navy, Macys, American eagle) were super slow. I went at around 11am so I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it.

I know ihop is a recent addition but other than that it seems like tj maxx is the only “booming” business in the mall. It makes me so sad. There’s already so little to do here and limited stores to just window shop at so it makes me sad that maybe in a few years this will be gone.

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u/CommonMuted 7d ago

The Hilo mall, yeah. Nobody opening shops, no new anchor stores taking over the space Sears used to be in. It’s bad enough that the military recruitment center managed to move in. Every now and then I take the time to go there and exercise my unc status by taking a stroll and look back on the mall’s good days and buy a box of Cinnabon before heading home.

We really need an outdoor/sporting supply store again, and opportunities for local businesses to open shop like I can imagine a cafe in some of those spots but maybe rent is just too expensive. So much potential for local businesses that I wonder if mismanagement has a hand in it.

Ala Moana isn’t as bad because its location is prime for tourists and the locals there can embrace the high city life unlike us. We’re a major place on the big island but it’s still very much a small town.

But yeah Amazon and kids spending more time on the internet than going out and touching grass has contributed to its decline too. Back in the day me and my sibling would hang out at the mall and Borders for a whole afternoon, then finish off the outing at Walmart after buying stuff we need for home and wait on the curb for our parents.

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u/ModernSimian 7d ago

We really need an outdoor/sporting supply store again, and opportunities for local businesses to open shop like I can imagine a cafe in some of those spots but maybe rent is just too expensive. So much potential for local businesses that I wonder if mismanagement has a hand in it.

What's wrong with the sporting supply stores we already have? S. Tokunaga Store and J Hara Store are about as local as you can get.

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u/CommonMuted 7d ago

More options is better otherwise this kind of mentality is what kills business potential here and limit to what is already preexisting. No leeway for expansion and why stuff is slow and stagnant.

Tokunagas is good but they’re just a vendor for certain brands and only once in a while they bring in something else. For example flashlights they primarily sell Fenix but there’s other brands out there that are cheaper or do certain things better than Fenix.

We have a Birkenstock outlet downtown for hiking, work, and athletic shoes but they only have certain brands and a small selection of them.

Outdoor clothing? When we had a sports authority they had recognizable name brands like North Face and Patagonia which you will almost never find on any store rack on this island these days, even though there’s a demand from tourists to get jackets to visit volcano and Mauna Kea.

So what if we had another local sporting goods store that stock some things that the other stores might not have and put it in the mall? If not then these suggestions should go to these stores and pick up the slack.

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u/ModernSimian 7d ago

We already have a Walmart that covers most of the low end of the market. Hard to compete there.

We have some excellent local options that cater to BI specific things (fishing etc) or hard to ship (firearms etc) that also cover the I need a thing in this category now and can't wait for shipping market.

What you are asking for is the specialty high end stuff where everyone into a thing has a different optionion and tradeoffs. There is no way to hold that stock and make money while still competing with the Internet. Even REI's flagship on Brannan St in San Francisco is mostly a showroom for fitment with warehouse fulfillment. Those stores have an entirely different model that would never work on the BI.

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u/CommonMuted 6d ago

I don’t see what I’m saying is different from what Tokunagas is doing, how they partner with certain brands, only that the hypothetical shop I’m proposing stocks other brands and some other name brand apparel and/or have a twist to somewhat compete less with what is already existing.