Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Hawaii's 7,807
retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $11.3 billion. In 1987,
7,195 retail stores had sales of $8.1 billion. The 1992 data represent
an increase of 39.2 percent in total retail sales for the State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 17.3 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 17.9 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of
business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 11.5 percent of
sales, miscellaneous general merchandise stores with 9.8 percent, and
restaurants with 7.9 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$1.4 million per establishment, compared with $1.1 million in 1987. In
1992, new and used car dealers averaged $17.0 million per
establishment; miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $12.0 million;
lumber and other building materials dealers, $3.2 million; grocery
stores, $3.2 million; and catalog and mail-order houses, $1.1 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $102 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $369 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $35 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $1.5 billion,
compared with $1.0 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 13.2 percent for all retailers,
31.9 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 9.4 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 110,411 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 101,969
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 25,264
employees, refreshment places with 16,725 employees, and grocery stores
with 12,297 employees.