Discount chain Daiso to open 1st neighbor island store in Hilo
DIANE S. W. LEE / 2019
A look inside the Daiso Hawaii store the corner of Young and Piikoi streets. The retailer sells items such as household goods, stationery, arts and crafts, toys, cleaning supplies, shopping bags, and Japanese drinks and snacks. Most products sell for $1.50, but some products have been priced higher at $3, $4.50, or $5.
DIANE S. W. LEE / 2019
Daiso Hawaii’s second location is at the corner of Young and Piikoi streets. The fourth Daiso location will open on Hawaii island this Saturday.
The popular Japanese discount chain Daiso will open its first neighbor island store this Saturday.
The grand opening of Daiso’s Hilo store is set to open Saturday at 333 Kilauea Ave.
Hawaii’s first Daiso store opened in December 2018 at Pearl City Shopping Center, drawing a long line of hundreds of shoppers snaking out the door. There are two other stores on Oahu — one at the corner of Young and Piikoi streets, and the other located on Fort Street Mall in downtown Honolulu.
Daiso Hilo will offer special goodie bags to the first 100 customers with any purchase, according to an Instagram post. Hours are tentatively set for 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Permanent store hours will be announced later.
HouseMart, the parent company of Ace Hardware and Ben Franklin Crafts, has an exclusive licensing agreement to open Daiso stores in the islands. A call and email to Daiso Hawaii seeking comment were not immediately returned.
The retailer sells items such as household goods, stationery, arts and crafts, toys, cleaning supplies, shopping bags, and Japanese drinks and snacks. Most products sell for $1.50, but some products have been priced higher at $3, $4.50, or $5.
As of February 2020, Daiso has more than 3,400 stores in Japan and over 5,700 stores worldwide. The store, which develops 800 new products a month, said it is able to keep prices down through high-volume sales that are in the millions for a single product.
