11-17-2010, 10:16 AM
James,
First of all, the Longs in Pahoa is not a WalMart, so I don't think we can extrapolate all the negative findings of these studies, some of which are almost 20 years old. And as Bob notes, commerce on the Big Island is different than commerce on the mainland, so again, I think we need to look more deeply before drawing conclusions on mainland-based studies.
As to the the question of business displacement: other than the Pahoa Pharmacy (which wasn't "crushed" by Longs, since it closed before Longs even opened, and apparently sold its business/customer base to Longs)what businesses are being displaced? Malama Market is seeing competition on a limited part of its inventory, but they should be able to adapt relatively painlessly and do just fine. And according to one of the studies on your website, the small independent pharmacy should have been able to hold its own based on better service, lower prices, etc.
Lower Puna is under-served in terms of the goods that Longs, BK and KFC will be providing. Longs is not eliminating customer shopping options, it is increasing them. In the years before Longs appeared, was there a stampede to open small businesses in Pahoa or at the Malama Market shopping center? Not that I can recall. In fact, I bet the folks who are most concerned about Longs in Pahoa are the larger retailers in Hilo, like Walmart, Safeway, KTA and even the other Longs branches. These are the stores who will be losing customers to the Woodland center stores, not locally owned small businesses in Pahoa or even Hilo.
First of all, the Longs in Pahoa is not a WalMart, so I don't think we can extrapolate all the negative findings of these studies, some of which are almost 20 years old. And as Bob notes, commerce on the Big Island is different than commerce on the mainland, so again, I think we need to look more deeply before drawing conclusions on mainland-based studies.
As to the the question of business displacement: other than the Pahoa Pharmacy (which wasn't "crushed" by Longs, since it closed before Longs even opened, and apparently sold its business/customer base to Longs)what businesses are being displaced? Malama Market is seeing competition on a limited part of its inventory, but they should be able to adapt relatively painlessly and do just fine. And according to one of the studies on your website, the small independent pharmacy should have been able to hold its own based on better service, lower prices, etc.
Lower Puna is under-served in terms of the goods that Longs, BK and KFC will be providing. Longs is not eliminating customer shopping options, it is increasing them. In the years before Longs appeared, was there a stampede to open small businesses in Pahoa or at the Malama Market shopping center? Not that I can recall. In fact, I bet the folks who are most concerned about Longs in Pahoa are the larger retailers in Hilo, like Walmart, Safeway, KTA and even the other Longs branches. These are the stores who will be losing customers to the Woodland center stores, not locally owned small businesses in Pahoa or even Hilo.