Hilo Hattie's went bankrupt today....

[JoyfulNoise]

Oh, that is sad news to me. I've happy memories of the stores in Hawaii, and also loved shopping the one in Vegas too. I enjoyed watching the clothing being made in Hawaii.

 

[Damselfish]

I read in the Advertiser that the thought was some of the troubles came from the image the stores had with locals: kitschy (thank God for Firefox spellcheck), tourist fare that no local would buy. Gather they tried to change that image, but the die was struck.

It had that image with some of the tourists too. Me anyway. Never could understand why that place was so popular, it was like a pilgrimage with some people.

 

[j_spot]

gotta go for the free shell necklace, glass of POG, and farmed pearls with high pressure jewelry sales.

Wait... as a tourist I didn't really care for any of that, I saw it as a place to get tacky memorabilia that is better served in a dollar store. I never did look at the clothing, so can't speak to it.

But thats my impression.

 

[Damselfish]

I think the clothing they carry has gotten somewhat better over the years, though I still rarely find anything I would want. Their brand at least used to be a lot of polyester clothing, icky type polyester not better stuff. I don't want to wear that anytime let alone in the heat.

I know someone who goes out of their way to get there to get ripped off by the farmed pearl people. One of the only reasons I wind up there.

 

[justleesa]

It had that image with some of the tourists too. Me anyway. Never could understand why that place was so popular, it was like a pilgrimage with some people.

The free shell lei and the free trolley ride that got you down town - a walk away from aloha tower and china town

gotta go for the free shell necklace, glass of POG, and farmed pearls with high pressure jewelry sales.

Wait... as a tourist I didn't really care for any of that, I saw it as a place to get tacky memorabilia that is better served in a dollar store. I never did look at the clothing, so can't speak to it.

But thats my impression.

I think the clothing they carry has gotten somewhat better over the years, though I still rarely find anything I would want. Their brand at least used to be a lot of polyester clothing, icky type polyester not better stuff. I don't want to wear that anytime let alone in the heat.

I know someone who goes out of their way to get there to get ripped off by the farmed pearl people. One of the only reasons I wind up there.

the cloths were of good quality. Not only the simple cotton version, but viscose, and other natural mixes - loosened it up a bit....

As for the jewelry sales, that was Maui Divers, just a store in a store...and the pearls...next time ask if they are fresh water or salt water pearls

 

[socaldiver]

My better half works for Hilo Hatties, and although I remember clothing of lesser quality years ago, in recent years they have added a better quality to their line. The wild aloha shirts that tourists purchase are the "cheaper" grade poly.

Not everybody likes Macy's or other stores similar, or maybe they can't afford to shop the higher end stores, especially when buying souveniers for people back home. I wear Hilo Hattie shirts to work most of the time and people thinkthey are Tommy Bahama but they are not. Oh, and I have had them for quite sometime and they look just like they did over a year ago.

As far as them filing Chapter 11, are they any different than other corporate companies they reorganize just to wipe out their debt. I don't think it was merely because they were overextended or because tourism is down. I have a hunch that the new owner justdecided he didn't want to "inherit" the debt that came with the purchase.