Hello! It’s me again! Ending my Hawaii trip with an unexpected surprise! Warning this is a long post.
DH and I had an extra day, so we decided to visit the Ala Moana Shopping Center during our daily walk. First of all this outdoor shopping center is huge, lots of designer shops, less people (maybe because we went on a weekday?), and mostly covered. Better than luxury row IMO where there’s so many people, little to no shade covering, and you get direct sunlight depending on the time of day.
We stopped by the H store to browse just for fun and appreciate. There was no line or wait at the day/time we visited.
Square Footage
This store is definitely smaller than the Waikiki location. Only 1 story vs. 3 stories.
Stock
I think both locations seems to have recently received stock as I saw plenty of silks, home goods, variety of RTW, fine jewelry in plenty of sizes, and shoes. There seems to be a bit more SLGs than Waikiki. My assigned SA showed me all that was available vs. the Waikiki location I had to ask to see something particular. I was looking for specific RTW and fine jewelry pieces and they had them here! My home store does not order them or they sell out.
Staff
I mainly interacted with my assigned SA but from observing other SAs and the interaction with their clients, they were pleasant and everyone seemed like they were having a great time. SAs here are majority Japanese speaking. My SAs primary language appears to be Japanese (based on her name and business card) but she was so sweet and accommodating. Everything I asked for she would take a look to see if it’s available vs saying “no stock or not available” right away.
Shopping experience
From the front entrance, I started my shopping with twillies and scarves. I started by taking a took a look to see what was available and saw some pieces that I wanted at first sight. I then made a right turn into womens RTW and saw that they had a variety of items. I was told this store does particularly well in RTW and that’s why they’re so stocked. I tried on a few items in which the SA even took some the time to get me some matching shoes to complete each look. Then we went to the fine jewelry and watch section. My DH looked at mens watches since he collects them and I headed to fine jewelry. They had a ring I wanted in all but my size. We went to mens RTW and shoes, browsed for home goods, and found some items but decided against buying due to luggage capacity.
Finally we stopped in the leather goods department (in the middle of the store, we did shopping in a circle). For SLGs they had Silk’In wallets in many colors, coin purses, and I saw bearns (including compact). I took a photo of the bags they had on display.
I looked at my husband and said I’m nervous asking for a Constance. He said “then don’t ask”. I didn’t listen to him because I knew I would regret it. So I asked my SA if she has any Constance’s available. Ready for a “sorry, no stock” answer, instead she responded “oh, I think we do, I need to double check. What color and size are you looking for?” At this point, my heart was pounding and I froze. I stammered “not black and maybe a 24”. I wanted a bigger Constance to carry more stuff. She said “I may have something. Would blue work?” I said “not a bright blue, but a darker neutral shade would work” she said, “Ok, I think I have something. I just need to ask my manager for approval.” She asked to look at our profile and walked away. I looked at my DH again and he said “my money gone…” Lol, at this point I still wasn’t convinced that this was happening until she returned with a sealed box in her hand. She took us to a private room and said “I can’t believe you asked specifically for what I had available today”. As she unwrapped the box, out came a beautiful bleu saphir epsom Constance 24 in GHW! My SA said “if you had asked for any other bag I wouldn’t be able to get it but so lucky that you asked for the only one I had available.” She even said “thank you for asking!”
Items purchased
I got a silk dress, leather embroidered sweater, 2 90 cm silk scarves, and 5 twillies.
Takeaways
- It never hurts to politely ask
- Things happen when you least expect it. I was not at all planning to do any H shopping or make any purchases. I was actually trying to get a Chanel coco top handle but no avail.
- H is about genuine love of the house and kind courtesy/respect to their SAs
- Luck plays a huge role. Had I asked for something else I wouldn’t have gotten it because they simply did not have it. But because what I wanted happened to be available at that time, that day, and only with that SA
Thank you for letting me share. Mahalo!
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( However my SA did show me an all black with the regular canvas and I was really close to saying yes but I think the coated canvas fits my lifestyle better. There was a yellow one with the coated canvas but not my cup of tea. I asked about rodeo/pegase bag charms as well and absolutely nothing.