After more than a decade in business, a beloved clothing retail store will close at the end of July, leaving Honolulu residents one less place to purchase clothing.
The Nordstrom Rack in the Waikiki neighborhood will close on July 27, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
The 34,000 square foot retail location opened in the spring of 2016 at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach on Kuhio Avenue.
The shutdown will impact 34 store employees, though Nordstrom indicated that some employees will be offered opportunities to transfer to other Nordstrom retail locations.
Those who are not offered a transfer or decline the opportunity will likely have their last day on July 27, or up to two weeks after the closure date.
However, it is currently unclear how many of the 34 employees at this location will be given transfer offers at this time.
Employees at the store ranged from store manager to assistant sales manager, along with salespeople and customer experience specialists.
Employers are required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to notify employees in advance of any mass layoffs or closures.
The corporation notified employees in late May, adding they have, “given appropriate notice to affected employees.”
There are local alternatives for Hawaiian shoppers, with another Nordstrom Rack located at Ward Village Shops, plus a regular Nordstrom department store located at Ala Moana Center.
While Nordstrom has not given an official reason for the closure, some customers speculated on the Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Facebook post.
“Because the Rent is high that’s why they decided not to renew their lease from that building! The Nordstrom Rack store the monthly rent of the store is high like crazy,” one Facebook user said.
The user also speculated that the company was, “probably paying $90,000 to $200,000 a month for their space at that building and depending how big is the square footage.”
He added that the Nordstrom store at Ala Moana Center, “might be paying more and maybe the range of $700,000 to $900,000 per month at the mall.”
“That’s why a lot the stores are going out of business because they couldn’t catchup with their monthly lease,” he added.
Others bemoaned the closing, with one commenting, “Omg . Our favorite place in Kuhio ! We been 1000 times! They have great things there. Amazing shop.”