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Local businesses look to outshine big box stores

Annual Small Business Saturday urges customers to “Shop Small”

By Melissa Tanji 5 min read

WAILUKU -- From toys only found in specialty shops to wares created locally by hand, Maui small businesses are touting their goods and asking folks to "shop small" this holiday season.

"Big Box is about running around, trying to find a deal. We tend to focus on what's best for the consumer," said Robert Loera, who has owned Maui Toy Works since 1982.

His stores on the west side have exclusive games, dolls, doll clothes and other hard-to-find specialty items not sold in national chain stores, he said Monday.

Another Maui business owner, Jamie Anderson of Friends & Faire Creative Workshop & Boutique in Wailuku town, knows deals can be found through Amazon or at big chain stores, but says she tries to shop at local businesses for the specialty products.

"I feel like it's more unique to give a gift like that. People don't get the same item," she said.

On the opposite end of the Maui business spectrum from Loera, Anderson is a newcomer to the Valley Isle business scene and has only been operating since March. She conducts craft workshops and sells her handmade crafts and other items made by Maui residents.

On Tuesday, Anderson was making painted signs that she hopes to sell Saturday, as she and Loera and other small Maui businesses celebrate "Small Business Saturday."

American Express years back initiated the shop small movement, which occurs between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and has been adopted by communities and municipalities across the country -- including Maui County -- according to a news release from the county. There are more than 250 merchants participating in Shop Small Maui, with many displaying a Shop Small Maui poster at their business.

The Shop Small Maui campaign is spearheaded by the County of Maui Mayor's Office of Economic Development along with the Maui Chamber of Commerce.

For every dollar spent at small businesses in the U.S., approximately 67 cents stays in the local community, according to the national Shop Small website.

"We can all have a major impact on our community by making conscious decisions as to where we shop every day and especially during the holidays," said Kay Fukumoto, director of the Office of Economic Development. "Shop Small Maui, and in particular Small Business Saturday, empower us as consumers to support our local businesses and keep dollars and economic activities flowing back into our local economy."

Fukumoto's office says that when someone buys locally instead of online, more sales tax is generated by the stores, which can be used to improve the Maui community.

Big box toy deals may lure customers in, but Loera says his shop has toys those stores don't.

Among the hottest toys this year are magnetic puzzle cubes, or "Shashibo," which can transform into 70 shapes and have no individual pieces to keep track of.

The toys "can be combined to make (a) larger, more complex structure," Loera said, adding that the store had been testing them for two months and that the toys were "very durable as well."

Loera, who has a store at Lahaina Cannery Mall and another along Front Street, said he is already seeing early bird shoppers. On Monday morning, he had a $300 sale from just one customer.

"We are expecting to do better than last year. Our customers like to shop slowly and carefully," he added.

Anderson said she believes as a whole, consumers are starting to shop locally more.

"People will still shop, of course, the deals on Amazon and Black Friday," she said.

But she pointed to the volatility of the worldwide consumer market with once popular businesses like Forever 21, the affordable clothing chain geared toward teens and young women, going out of business.

"People are appreciative of just more quality items that will last longer. Also if you buy local, and if anything does happen to your product, you know where to find them (again)," she said, adding that the shopper is able to connect with business owners.

Anderson's business serves primarily as a workshop where people gather to make crafts such as wood signs, all types of jewelry, macrame, as well as keiki crafts made out of recycled materials.

But, she also sells some of the jewelry and handmade items.

She plans to have a special, Small Business Saturday Pop-Up Shop where some of her craft instructors will also have their wares for sale, including stationery, wood-burnt items, hats, bags, T-shirts, macrame and baked goods, including homemade Chex mixes and Nalani Caulford's peanut butter bombs, which are a mix of cereal, peanut butter and chocolate.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1980 Main Street, No. 4.

She said other small business neighbors whose stores interconnect, such as Native Intelligence and the All Pono Store, will all have their interior doors open.

"It's one big party," Anderson said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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