#Hawaii Business

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Board of Directors selected George Kam as its new chair during yesterday’s monthly board meeting. He previously served as its vice-chair. Kam is an active community leader and is a former executive in the surf industry.

Business owners in Hawaiʻi have until March 31 to complete the fourth Hawaiʻi Commercial Rent Survey, which aims to provide state and county policymakers with data on the impact of accumulating commercial rent as the state moves towards economic recovery.

The results of the Third Hawaiʻi Commercial Rent Survey with National Overlay show the commercial rent situation continues to worsen for businesses in Hawaiʻi and across the country due to the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The new round of funding will help Hawai‘i small businesses meet their payroll and provide people with paychecks,” said US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i).

MEDB will be awarded $300,000 to scale-up its successful STEMworks program to provide hands-on training for Maui residents in focus areas considered vital to the future of Hawaiʻi’s economy, including renewable energy and artificial intelligence.

Roberts Hawaiʻi co-founder, Robert Iwamoto Jr. announced his retirement from the company as CEO & chairman of the board, effective Dec. 31, 2020. Iwamoto has served as the transportation company’s CEO & chairman of the board since 1983. 

ClimbingHI LLC (Cody Clark) earned the award for Exceptional Small Business of the Year with 10 or fewer employees.

A&B President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Benjamin said, “It is an honor to be recognized by Nareit with this important award that showcases A&B’s dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Subaru Hawaiʻi launched its 10th annual Share the Love Sales Event, which runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020, and is supporting four nonprofits: Oahu SPCA, Hawaiʻi’s National Parks, Hawaiʻi Meals on Wheels and Make-a-Wish Hawaiʻi.

The State of Hawai‘i, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i, announced the launch of the Hawai‘i Business Pivot Grant program. The grants will distribute $25M in financial and training support to struggling small businesses in Hawai‘i to help them adjust to marketplace changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the company, the number of customers at the shop decreased to less than five per day since the the reinstatement of the 14-day quarantine for interisland travelers.  

American Savings Bank has announced a promotion and two new hires.  The announcement includes two residents of the island of Maui–Ann Sakamoto and Jeffrey Bonk.

“Central to the survival of tenants and property owners alike is the fact that counties continue to collect property taxes in full, resulting in a domino effect of landlords needing to cover their expenses from small businesses’ occupancy,” according to Island Business Management, LLC, one of the survey partners.

A second survey geared toward understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hawaiʻi’s businesses is taking place. Results from the first survey, conducted in April 2020 revealed the hardest hit industries were accommodations (hotels), down 83 percent in full-time employee reductions, and retail businesses, down 76 percent.  

Mall representatives say the 500 square foot expansion “will allow Jeans Warehouse to significantly add to its inventory of contemporary fashion tops, dresses, bottoms, accessories, footwear and much more.”

Effective May 26, 2020, Maui County Federal Credit Union (FCU)’s Kahului branch at Maui Marketplace will reopen, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Lahaina branch will go back to its normal hours of operation: Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Earlier this month, the Wailuku branch resumed normal hours of operation Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A’ Design Award and Competition recently announce that the furniture work Pohihi by Holly Badr-El-Din has been acknowledged with the prestigious A’ Design Award.

Maui County Federal Credit Union (FCU) has hired Denise Thayer into the newly created position of Chief Development & Communications Officer.

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union (Hawaii State FCU), announced that Mark Yamakawa, president and CEO of Hawaii Dental Service, has been elected to its volunteer Board of Directors, while Terrence Aratani and Kaulana Park have been reelected to serve a new three-year term, effective March 21.

Pacific Media Group today announced that it has created a $2 Million Marketing Fund to be granted to Hawaiʻi businesses to assist with messaging to consumers across the state. Pacific Media Group designed this program to help local businesses connect with consumers looking for goods and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.