Saks Fifth Avenue’s first full-line Hawaii store will cater to a diverse number of international visitors, with nearly 70 percent of employees able to speak a foreign language.

The high-end retailer, which will anchor the redesigned International Market Place, has hired about 130 employees who speak 24 different languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, Romanian and Hawaiian, said Shelley Tadaki Cramer, vice president and general manager of the Waikiki store, at a media preview of the 80,000-square-foot department store Monday.

“We definitely wanted to make sure that we had our top three, of course, that Hawaii is known for, which is Japanese, Chinese and Korean, but we wanted to make sure we capitalized on all languages,” she said.

Cramer said 90 percent of the people hired to staff its 40th store nationwide are from Hawaii.

“It was really important for me to make sure the spirit of aloha is infused in our store and to marry the Saks brand with the spirit of aloha,” she said. “We are the anchor store in the International Market Place. It’s definitely a location for tourists, but our goal is to also target local shoppers. We believe with the International Market Place creating 700 stalls with valet parking, that will be a huge draw. We’re here to also serve the local community.”

The three-level store in the middle of Waikiki opens Thursday with the opening of the International Market Place.