Bankrupt General Growth won't sell Ala Moana Center - Hawaii Bu...

This is wonderful news for the retailers at Ward Warehouse! If this is an indication that GGP will sell Ward Warehouse and the other Ward properties it would be the best news possible since 2002! 2002 was when GGP bought the Ward properties and started to suck them dry.
Retailers there are moving out at a shocking rate. Please please sell Ward and pass it along to someone who will treat it well instead of abuse.

General Growth in Hawaii has been a bad neighbor and a bad corporate citizen to locals as it cares more about profit than anything else - especially fair rents & leases, treating its long-time mom & pop tennants with respect, and giving back to the community.

I don't know what mainland-haole (who knows nothing about Hawaii's current economic situation) launched Ala Moana Center's latest marketing fiasco, but to ask your customers to spend $500 to redeem their collective receipts for a gaudy ceramic Christmas ornament of the mall's Santa Clause icon is just wrong.

I mean really $500. Are they on drugs or something? It just shows how much Ala Moana Center's management is out of touch with locals and how people are suffering in the down-turned economy.

You'd think that Ala Moana Center would offer the iconic Santa ornament for a smaller redemption point considering the Holidays, the economy and trying to be a good corproate citizen in Hawaii.

I guess not. It's all about $$$$ at General Growth and Ala Moana Center.

I agree completely, WTF?, I told my self when I heard that you had to spend $500 to redeem receipts for a ceramic Santa. Don't they know about Hawaii's economic situation? Don't they know that tenants in their mall's (like Ala Moana and Ward) are closing shop every month?

They aren't really a good corporate citizen when they do these types of stupid things. As usual, its bad taste from GGP.

Ala Moana Shopping Center is run by a bunch of mainlanders anyway and it's no longer local at heart. I met this crass woman in charge of marketing and wasn't impressed by her 36,000 foot high-altitude, brazen mainland attitude.

We all know that the $500 price point for the cheap ceramic Santa is for the Japanese tourists anyways. Locals shouldn't shop there, period!

What a nice gesture turned rotten. Merry Christmas, where's my $5000 in receipts for your ounce of cheaply painted plaster?

I agree. Ala Moana Center is not a local's mall. It's the mall for Japanese and haole visitors. They lost touch with me as a customer long ago when they started doing high-fashion-wanna-be-ads.
They've seemed to forget who they are...and where they came from. Not local by heart.

We no like Ala Moana Shopping Mall...they to high class for everyone on Oahu, or atlease think so in their own mind.

I tired of seeing them hawk stuff on KHON's morning show like one paid commercial. What, cannot afford to pay for TV spots during Chapeter 11 kines? LOL.

No shop Ala Moana.

I hate Ala Moana Shopping Center. They're not kind to locals.

Can we say Cheesy promotion Ala Moana Center?

$500 for a ceramic Santa? What-the-heck? You are so out of touch on this one its funny but yet sad.

They deserve bankrupt status. The mall is not into supporting the community at all.

These stupid "shop and redeem" promotions are lame-O anyway. I know many people who buy and return their stuff to get the free gift card.

How about using the money for real things like donating money back to the community or charities?

GGP, Ala Moana and Ward never give back to the community. Or they make up some lame-O promotion like buy a Ward discount card for $10 and the money goes to charity. That promotion is so old already. How many times can you hit up people for ten bucks anyways?

Why not donate proceeds of sales or support LOCAL charities? Than trying ome multi-level marketing campaign to sell people stuff by obligation to the group they bvelong to?

Everything's closing at Ward anyways, so no value there.

Atleast Royal Hawaiian Center is gicing away discounts via merchants to everyone who has their discount sheet and card - no matter who you are and at NO COST. And they aren't making you buy a stupid Santa for $500 in receipts, either.

Shame on Ala Moana and Ward.

I like the Santa but wouldn't dare spend $500 to get it.

Dumb.

Say they giveaway 5,000 of these Santas and the Santas cost them $6 a piece for production and shipping. That's $30,000.

Say they need to spend $25,000 on a multi-station TV buy, and $5,000 on a radio buy and $10,000 on a print buy - all to promote the giveaway. That's $40,000.

A total of $70,000 in merchant funds to promote something during Christmas, hopefully to generate $2.5 million in retail sales (5,000 pieces @$500 each) to initiate sales and distrubute all of the Santa figurines.

Funny thing is that it's CHRISTMAS! People would have spent hundreds of dollars during this time period "anyway." So did they really spend merchant money wisely? Hell no.

How about saving the finds when the mall sales are in the dumps than during the highest spend season of the year, Christmas.

That stupid Santa isn't going to generate sales from locals...especially at that silly $500 price point. I agree that only Japanese, Chinese and Mainlanders will redeem $500 receipts for all the luxury shopping they do and it won't benefit the locals.

Ala Moana, do something for the locals next time.

If this was a hit or miss promotion, you'd score a miss with the local crowd.

Pearlridge Center is to be commended by returning something back to the public during their Furlough Fridays events at the center giving island keiki and parents a break from the damage the state has done to our eduation system. The merchants of Pearlridge Center rock - kudos to you for returning something to the comminity!

LOL.

Ala Moana for the locals? No way and not for many years now.

Pearlridge Center and Kahala Mall are my malls!

Alice wrote:

I hate Ala Moana Shopping Center. They're not kind to locals.

Do you really blame them? Locals are broke and living on the beach.

I like all of the luxury stores. I don't buy the other crap at the mall. And, I wouldn't wast my time redeeming $500 in receipts or standing in that stupid customer service line for a dumb-dumb-Santa ornament that wouldn't match my high-end tree by any accord.

Dumb-dumb promotion. Waste of time and money. It's a Chicago promotion from GGP. No one stupid would recommend something like that in Hawaii.

My friends were just discussing Ala Moana's promotion last night. It's stupid to expect locals in this crashed economy to spend 500-buxx for a cheapo made in China Santa ornament that looks like "China-made-crap."
I thought they were Ala Moana Mall and not the International Marketplace.
Ala Moana is handing out a piece of crap and expects its shoppers to shell out big buxx.
What a JOKE!

I really don't like to shop where locals are unwelcomed. Ala Moana Center has been treating locals like kaka for a long time.

To ask a shopper to drop $500 is a bit much to expect in this economy and its perceived as greedy.

This just shows how crass the center is to the people in its own back yard. They need to re-examine their marketing objectives and get with reconnecting themselves with O`ahu's local population. Through building a relationship with the community, you gain and retain loyal customers.

The center is so out of touch with the local market that its shocking to see those marketing folks at Ala Moana still have jobs.

It's just like many of GGP's issues today.

The Hawaiian iwi issue at Ward: Bulldoze through the bones and disrespect the aina for profit.

Leasing to local business: Charge high lease rents and run long time and local businesses into the ground.

Bodies: Display dead bodies, charge a ticket price and profit!(No matter what it takes.)

Cheesy Vending Carts: Rent a cart to a's anyone who can annoy your customers while they are shopping so you can just sell one more ounce of Dead Sea crap.

Last, but not least, spend $500 and receive a cheap Christmas trinket that looks like its from Price Busters.

GGP ... Greedy Greedy People = Great Great Profits

I miss the fun and music, the Christmas decor, Santa and the elves strolling around, talking and joking with people. The entertainment on center stage, highlighting Hawaiian traditions, presented wonderful, happy times for everyone.
Aloha oe

Ala Moana Shopping Center suks.$500 for a trashy piece of China-made ceramic? Why not donate the $5 cost per piece to some local charity that helps the needy. Seems like a lot of suffering out there this holiday season for the big Gneral Growth boobs to ignore the community. How dare them tell locals to spend $500 in this economy for a piece of junk.

Kudos to Kahala Mall for their Angel tree with KGMB hellping the many who are less fortunate...and most likely cannot spend $500 this season.

I love General Growth. They have made me tons of money. They operate their properties to generate profits for their investors. That philosophy is what pushed the U.S. to the top of the world. Oh, but Hawaii...it's a stepchild... always holding its hand out for money.

What a bunch of losers,I cannt believe you people are complaining about a Santa,no one is telling you to buy it for $500,You are spending the $500 on things you need anyways,the santa is just a little thank you gift,since when is any mall obligated to give you anything free.And as far as GGP is in it for the money or that is all they care about,And what is wrong with that,they are in buisness to make money not give you free stuff,Why is it that some people feel that big buisness should give them something or should I say OWE them something,they dont owe you anything, stop complaining and be happy they give you a mall to shop at.

I read all the posts. Firstly, to correct ONE THING. Hawaii never has, and NEVER WILL HOLD OUT ITS HAND FOR MONEY!!! WE didn't when the Hurricanes struck us TWO TIMES!!! BUT, I read a LOT of complaing about when natural disasters hit the mainland.
AND before saying anything, look into the HISTORY of Ala Moana and the Ward areas. BEFORE GGP TOOK OVER, both Malls were very COMMUNITY Oriented. AFTER the take over of both malls, THAT Community Oritentation stopped. AND Ala Moana was around a LOT longer before GGP ever came along. But, not all of the fault is with GGP. It was the previous owners who Sold out. So not all the blame can be laid on GGP.

AND, Ala Moana used to do promotions before the GGP buyout and was very reasonable. Not only that, it was very festive. Everyone looked forward to Christmas at Ala Moana. If you think that they were trying to make money...think again. The bankruptcy is behind this $500 promotion.
Another thing, I worked at Ward Center for a long time. Merchants there were given the calming "don't worry, it'll be business as usual". It took only five years, to run out tenants that were there from when the Mall first opened. That was over 25 years. Now, only two of the original tenants remain. So unless you know what the background is, DO NOT call anyone "losers" and money grubbing. It is like people from the Mainland to contemporize this way.
And another thing, after the GGP Take-over, tenants now have to pay out of their profits, anything that happens in their spaces. EVEN if that happens to be property destruction from an outside source, when NO ONE is in the store. With the outrageous rents, the liability clauses, the tenants can't afford to pay to have things fixed and yet, if they don't they get charged every month something is not fixed. And if they are late with their rent, even though they worked it out for a late payment, they get a NASTY LETTER. I know, I read one.
So don't come on here, thinking you know everything when you do not. What arrogance and gall.