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..i~,~vcta,tr~i r~g~ ! CIL ~ s- ~;~~HRIJ~IV ISI_.,~Nl~ ~~F ~.,r Print Page Posted: Monday, Aug 08, 2005 - 02:05:12 am HST Lihu`e's WaI-Mart marks 10th anniversary By Andy Gross -The Garden Island . ~ - WaI-Mart, the giant next door, celebrted its 10 anniversary this R weekend as a Kauai institution. R r According to store manager Janie Whitehead, festivities began Friday with an in-house luncheon for the store's employees, and , - then a big, daybng, public bash Saturday. Ar y ~'_-ros= ~ T ~I Whitehead, who has been at the Kauai WaI-Mart for more than two Kauai wal-mart's years, said the greatest challenge during her tenure has been Janie wnitenead. something akin to a mixed blessing. "Our biggest challenge has been our increase in business. We're receiving so much more merchandise, and there's not always enough people (employees) available," she said. "We do have a very good core group of associates, but it can be hard to fill entry-level positions," she said. Whitehead said that, currently, WaI-Mart has 303 full-time employees and 39 part-time employees, eight assistan4 managers, and one manager-in-training. On average, it has more than 6,000 register transactions per day. Whitehead said the food department, which has gotten bigger over the years, is number one overall in terms of store sales. Since its inception 10 years ago, nothing has been added to the original concept of the store except customers and more and more merchandise, she said. Whitehead, who jokingly calls her small space In the back of the cavernous store (with spare merchandise such as bicycles hanging from the ceiling) as the "executive offices;' said the 119,000 square-foot store has exceeded initial expectations. "We've had more sales volume than expected," she said, adding the building was getting a bit old. Plans are in the works for some refurbishment to the facility in September or October. Whitehead said there is the possibility the store may expand, and that a large grocery department may be added in coming years. While owners of small businesses lamented the arrival of WaI-Mart as something that would signal the end of the mom-and-pop store on the island, long-time reporters can't recall one store-closing of a business during that time where the owners attributed their demise to the arrival of WaI-Mart. While WaI-Mart's arrival 10 years ago did force some business owners to refocus their efforts either into specialty items not carried by Wal-Mart or retooling to focus on more intense customer service, the fad is that WaI-Mart's arrival has been good for businesses throughout Kauai. Except, possibly, where competition for the availability of scarce workers is concerned. Wal- Mart's arrival has meant creation of more jobs not only in the store, bu[ to vendors and others doing business with Wal-Mart leaders. http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2005/08/08/news/news02.prt 1/2/2007