Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 9, 1 September 1996 — Retailer offers "made in Hawaiʻi" to Oʻahu residents [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Retailer offers "made in Hawaiʻi" to Oʻahu residents

by Patrick Johnston While retail shops in Hawai'i make sure that tourists ean take home a bit of Hawai'i, they rarely afford the same luxury to the loeal community.

Kauila Maxwell, a Hawaiian goods specialty shop in Windward

Mall is helping to change this. Susan Kopper opened Kauila Maxwell a year ago, fulfilling a goal to own a shop that sold only products made in Hawai'i. Her own market research also showed that there was strong - but generally unsatisfied - loeal demand for high quality, reasonably priced Hawaiian-made crafts. "The loeal market was not being served," she points out. "That's where I found the niehe." While galleries sold high-end goods and low-cost department stores sold cheaper items, there were few vendors selling quality but affordable items to residents. Kauila Maxwell, whieh is named after

Kopper's two sons, sells a variety of locally produced crafts, from sculpture and paintings to fumiture and clothing. It also has the largest collection of Ni'ihau shell lei on O'ahu. Kopper started the

store after , - working as a ■f r e e 1 a n e e

marketing eonsultant. Before that, she taught marketing and management for several years at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo. With a strong business background - whieh included growing up in a retail environment - she eame well prepared for the retail world. She also made sure she did her homework before opening shop. "I did a lot of observations and studied the demographics of the area," she says. The work has paid off she believes. "We're doing very well. The loeal eommunity really appreciates the store. We've had a lot of good comments." Store items are especially popular as gifts loeal residents send to friends and family on the Mainland.

Part of the store's success is due to the attention Kopper pays to quality. Suppliers have to be loeal but they also have to have a strong

product and be reliable. "I'm very particular about quality and authenticity," Kopper says. Kauila Maxwell employs nine part-time staff but Kopper does all the buying and bookkeeping herself. Her husband helps out with some of the maintenance work that needs to be done around the store. "It's definitely a family operation," she says. Kopper stresses that the research she did before opening up her shop was invaluable - and it cost her very little. She made sure she knew what her product was, studied the competition, investigated Windward O'ahu demographics, and picked the brains of all the people she could about operating a retail business in the area. To better understand her market, she would sit down at the mall and watch the flow of people.

With all the mtormation that's available for free you shouldn't have to pay a cent for research," she says. Kauila Maxwell ean be reached in

Kāne'ohe at 235-8383. For information about the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund eall 594-1888.

Loanfund profile

A Hauauan C®lltctt«irv

Kauila Maxwell owner Susan Kopper inside her Kāne'ohe store.