KAHULUI, Maui >> A rack of men’s slacks, a couple dozen pairs of shoes, electrical cords for assorted appliances and six pairs of women’s underwear — all at 95% discounted prices — were pretty much all that was left for customers to pick over Saturday as Sears at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center prepared to end its nearly 50-year run at the Kahului mall.
The Maui location is the once-formidable retailer’s last full-line department store in Hawaii. Today’s closure at the end of business will complete a gradual withdrawal from the islands that began after Sears’ 2018 bankruptcy. At the time, the retailer had four department stores in Hawaii: two on Oahu at Pearlridge Center and Windward Mall, one at Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo and the Maui store.
The longtime flagship store at Ala Moana closed in 2013, followed by the Windward Mall location in 2019 and the Pearlridge and Hilo stores earlier this year.
Maui Store Manager Darlene Kuailani fought back tears as she recalled her 32 years with Sears and the many friendships with coworkers made along the way.
“It’s really sad,” Kuailani said. “We had a lot of happy times, a lot of hard times, but now it’s sad times.”
The Maui Sears at one time had 120 employees, she said, but in its final days only 27 remained.
“They all stuck it out with me,” said Kuailani, her voice wavering. “I’m very proud of them, very proud.
“I’m so glad everyone stayed. There’s so much jobs out there right now and any one of them could have left, but they all stayed to the bitter end.”
Denise Tada joined the Maui Sears as a sales clerk 36 years ago and heads the “hard lines” department of hardware, mattresses and appliances. In addition to the store’s “loyal customers,” she said she’ll miss “the great friends who became like family.”
Added Kuailani, “That’s what the hard part is now. There’s a few of us who have been here a long time and they’re like, ‘What am I gonna do now?’ It’s like they’re my family.”
Wailuku resident Karen Moore, who dropped by the store Saturday, said she used to shop at Sears for alohawear.
“It’s so sad to see another big company going down, and on Maui, we’re so small and we’re already limited, and now we’re even limited more,” she said. “We thought it was a shock when Liberty House left (the mall) and Macy’s came in, and then JCPenney left. It’s just sad, and pretty soon we’re not going to have anywhere to shop.
“We’re just thankful for Walmart and Target,” Moore added.
The Maui closure will leave Hawaii with two small- format Sears stores: Sears Appliances &Mattresses at Ala Moana Center and a Sears Hometown Store in Kailua-Kona that sells appliances, mattresses, tools and a collection of lawn, garden and patio items.
Transformco, the Illinois- based owner of Sears, earlier said the Maui store will be redeveloped under a plan to be announced. In the meantime, Sears will be open to customers for the last time from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. After that, the store will open for fixture sales and pick-up only from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week, Kuailani said.
