Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1960)

A MERCHANDISING EYE-OPENER The swampland that once separated downtown Honolulu from the shores of Waikiki is now a double-decker $28 million merchandising miracle, Ala Moana Shopping Center, with coconut palm trees on the top deck (see panorama photo at left with Diamond Head three miles away in background). This 50-acre plot is the site of one major department store (Sears Roebuck); a sprawling Foodland grocery store (39,000 sq. ft. and flagship of the Foodland chain); a 25-story office building (under construction); over threescore other stores and a two-story parking lot holding 5,000 cars. Last October the center was dedicated with a promotional burst befitting its vast retailing facilities. The name Ala Moana means Ocean Road in Hawaiian; the center lies between Ala Moana Freeway and Kapiolani Blvd. Financing came from the pioneer Dillinghams. With Honolulu's growth, Ala Moana shopping center lies in the theoretical center of population — not over 10 minutes drive for over two-thirds of the metropolitan population and within 15 minutes for over 250,000 people. Sears Roebuck has a major store in the center (250,000 sq. ft.) and it's doing more business than most mainland stores in the chain (one estimate exceeds $20 million). The Mclnerny chain has its largest store and main offices there. The Foodland shelves, running endlessly in neat arrays of astonishing va been the main industries. Now new manufacturing plants, construction, service industries and the jobs inherent in a more complex economy are providing more types of income sources. And the government spending for defense is likely to continue unless there is a drastic change in the nation's military scheme. Income Record • Per family income in Hawaii is high — $6,240 on the island of Oahu and much higher than 1958, judging by Bank of Hawaii estimates. Total personal income jumped 15% in the state as a whole last year. Per capita personal income is held down by an increase in the birthrate in recent years (higher than stateside) and an increase in the number of military dependents. Oahu is four-fifths of the Hawaiian economy. Its per family income aided by the large number of working women is well above the national average of $5,580, the bank points out. Per capita personal income is about at the median point of the United States. In 1958 the U.S. Commerce riety, are carefully assembled for easy finding. Near the entrance is an adaptation of an old road marker (see photo at right), with distances measured in yards. Popular mainland brands are available and in heavy demand (extreme lower left photo). In addition there are stacks of non-food items bought by Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos and other racial groups. An entire gourmet department loaded with fancy foods is larger than many a neighborhood grocery store. Foodland is on the ground floor, adjacent to covered parking space. It is flanked by several dozen stores, all part of the total collection of 80 retail outlets. Final plans include a second department store and 7,000 parking places. On the upper or mall level an elevated park runs lengthwise between the stores. The two levels provide a total area of 64 acres. The heavier share of parking facilities is on the upper deck. Both upper and lower levels are engineered with easy-to-follow driving lanes and ramps. Escalators and stairs connect the levels for pedestrians. The 25-story office skyscraper will be topped by a revolving bar — a penthouse mounted on a turntable. The building will have three parking levels. Annual sales of $50 million are foreseen for Ala Moana, compared to a present total of $70 million in the downtown retail area. Dept. and Bank of Hawaii placed island per capita income at $1,852 compared to $2,057 for the mainland. Here's what happened to per capita income during the last decade: 1950 $1,403 1954 1,717 1957 1,821 1958 1,852 1959 1,910 * A preliminary guess. The Useful Visitors • Tourism! That's the magic word in the 50th state. Everybody underestimated what statehood and the publicity that went with it would do to this industry — and Hawaii considers it a big industry, maybe even No. 1 in a few years. Even Mr. Hitch, who's a specialist on the subject, found his earlier guesses on the 1959 influx of visitors were much too low. Simultaneous approval of statehood and opening of Pan American's jet service in mid-summer lured mainlanders in quantities, and opening of daily Pan American jet flights in October spurred the influx. Mr. Hitch came up with some fasci nating facts about the tourist business: The median visitor spends $28 a day and stays 14.4 days; tourism has doubled every four years since World War II; 30% are repeat visitors; they usually base on Waikiki; outer island visits run one to four or five days; only 20% of visitors come from east of the Mississippi where two-thirds of the mainland population lives; the island intake from visitors last year was more than $100 million. Mr. Hitch predicts 2 million visitors in 1975, with 45,000 hotel rooms needed. There are now about 6,000 rooms on all the islands. But it's the immediate future that gets him excited. "The hotel shortage may end late this year," he said hopefully, scanning a long list of construction projects that will increase accommodations by 2,500 rooms in 1960. Nobody can figure how many visitors have been turned away by the space shortage. One guess put it at more than 25,000 in 1959. This year Hawaii is counting on 300,000 visitors compared to 240,000 in 1959. During 1960 the figure may reach 350,000; in 1965 BROADCASTING, January 18, 1960 79