Aloha is a way of life in Hawaii’s second island of Maui and it is an attribute long-time members of Maui Jim’s staff count as part of the firms success. The western European mindset associates business success with a hard-nosed, financially-driven approach but that does not have to be the case according to Maui Jim.
Ruthie Belden, executive assistant to the CEO, has worked for the company since 1989 when it first moved to the Wainee Street, Lahaina location. Back then it was a purely Maui-based business the company had gone through some problems which had led to the business being acquired by the current owner and chief executive officer Walter Hester.
Belden says since the early days Maui Jim has grown beyond all expectation, first to Canada, then France and Mexico and then to more than 100 countries through its 15 distribution centres around the world.
Belden exudes enthusiasm both for Aloha spirit and for the founder Hester. ‘He’s good to all of his employees,’ she adds. Hester, a boat captain, had been working as a marketing executive for an oil company when he came across the original Maui Jim sunglass product. A local fisherman, Jim Richards, had been selling seven styles of sunglasses up and down Ka’anapali beach, along the Maui coast, since 1980. Having bought a pair Hester saw the potential of such a quality sunglass product and became a distributor. By 1994 the original company was facing bankruptcy so Hester, who had invested in product to sell decided to buy the company and its patents. He first went to his father, an oil company executive, who offered a loan at a very unfavourable rate in an effort to put his son off. Hester’s belief in the product meant he not only took up the loan but paid it off within a year.
‘Walter Hester has created this brand and made the company what it is today,’ says Belden describing how outlets such as Walmart wanted the product but Hester refused in order to keep the product at the high end of the market.
Belden explains the Aloha spirit is enshrined in Hawaiian law and requires all Hawaiians, including government employees, to conduct themselves in accordance with its rules in their work and personal lives. Aloha is all about putting others first and obligating everyone to act in a way which improves the world for all. The letters of the word spell out its intention:
Akahai, meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness.
Lokahi, meaning unity to be expressed with harmony.
Olu’ola, meaning agreeable to be expressed with pleasantness.
Ha’aha’a, meaning humility to be expressed with modesty.
Ahonui, meaning patience to be expressed with perseverance.
To non-Hawaiians this may seem nebulous but Belden says: ‘As a Hawaiian person it’s what you grow up with.’ She first started as the assistant to the CEO and one of her first duties was to open the Aloha department. ‘When customers come we treat them like partners, Walter believes in all that.’ She still runs that department today.
Bill Haywood, operations manager, was also with Hester in the early days and remembers how Hester’s father thought he was mad to invest in the business when Richards faced bankruptcy. At the time the product was sold on the quality of its lenses which featured seven layers of polarisation and colour enhancement. Haywood explains how Richards would go to the beaches offering people the product to try. ‘Jim would say to people: “Try it and come back for your money if you don’t like it”, of course no one did.’
Ruthie Belden, executive assistant to Maui Jim’s CEO, and Bill Haywood, operations manager
Haywood puts the success Hester has achieved with the product down to his emphasis on relationships with suppliers, customers and employees. ‘Walter has always focused on the technology and relationships, he also offers all employees the opportunity to buy shares in the company.’ Haywood points to the close personal relationship Hester has formed with the Nakanishi family which made the Maui Jim product from early on and to this day.
Haywood, who was born and bred in Hawaii is very mindful of the use of the Hawaiian culture and is keen to point out that Hester is insistent that the values are lived and not just used as marketing. He has worked for Maui Jim since 1995 and knew Hester when he was a local boat captain. He said Hester’s success with the product is down to perseverance and hard work in the early days. ‘I can remember Walter working nights to make glasses then driving them to the airport.’
The Wainee Street office is something of a Mecca for Maui Jim devotees, says Haywood, with customers returning year on year to buy new product or have running repairs to existing sunglasses carried out. He sees it very much as a customer relationship venture rather than a profit centre but it ensures customers stay with the brand for life when they benefit from instant repairs and $75 lens replacement. Wainee Street is first and foremost a service centre for the island, it ensures product is sent out quickly and repairs turned around quickly, he adds.
Maui has an awful lot of Maui Jim retailers, the closest probably just 100m away from the headquarters, so Haywood is mindful of not stepping on their toes. He says while he does not do retail hours he has between 200 and 400 people through the door each day. ‘We get people back year after year who want to know what’s new. They just want to come to the cookie factory.’
Maui Jim sunglasses are something of a fixture on the island of Maui. Everywhere you look people are wearing Maui Jims, whether they be blue collar workers on the holiday of a lifetime or the well-heeled city type who own property on the island. Jim Richards, or JR, was well-known local character back in the 1980s and it is not hard to find locals who were given product to try in the early days.
Richards saw a market for lenses that could cope with the fierce glare of the Hawaiian sun and sourced a polarised lens which also provided colour enhancement. The number of outlets selling the product is staggering. As well as numerous traditional outlets around the Hawaii region within the birth place of the brand, the Ka’anapali beach area close to the port town of Lahaina there are many kiosk vendors. The Beach Area Merchandisers operate around and within the hotels that hug the Ka’anapali coast with barely a few hundred yards between each vendor.
The concession holders take a characteristically relaxed Hawaiian approach to so much competition. Each differentiates itself by choosing a different selection of frames suited to the venue’s clientele. A short 10 minute walk ends at Black Rock, where the Maui Jim legend started. The Black Rock, a diving spot, is a local landmark and spiritual home of Maui Jim. The walk yields half a dozen Maui Jim outlets staffed by enthusiastic, knowledgeable sales staff.
The Ka’anapali beach area close to the port town of Lahaina has many Maui Jim kiosk vendors (Credit: Angela Mrositzki DOZ)
Back at the Wainee Street HQ Haywood returns to the Aloha spirit and how it lives within the company. A practical example might be ensuring phones are answered within three rings by a real person. ‘When you talk to someone about an issue you own it,’ he says. He also recounts the story of when he put a service access point in the rear of the building to stop repair clients having to walk through the showroom and retail counter which is housed in the front lobby. Hester said: ‘Let them come in the front door.’
As well as keeping stock for the Hawaii area the centre houses head office functions and a team of three service people who work directly with clients on repairs. The front of the building houses a showroom where customers can come in and buy Maui Jims at source during office hours.
As well as the holiday market Maui Jim has been helped by the focus on technology, says Haywood. It comes at just the right time as holes in the ozone layer and better understanding of eye health develop. ‘That goes back to Walter’s focus on technology – he’s always put that first and style second,’ although the balance is evening up. ‘There was a time we said we would never do a white frame.’
The people and the celebrities Maui Jim work with are also chosen for their qualities, he adds Maui Jim ambassadors are chosen for their character. ‘We go for the good people not necessarily the number one. We are not into celebrity but people who are doing the right thing.’ When it comes to customers he says: ‘We are changing people’s lives by giving them an excellent product. What’s not to like about bringing someone comfort and health by looking after their eyes.’
When asked about keeping the aloha spirit going as the headcount globally reaches 1,200 Haywood says Hester achieves that through important little things and that means doing different things in different cultures. It is about: ‘Doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason and getting it right first time. When the downturn came in 2008 Hester told his sales team not to save gas [petrol], says Haywood. ‘Walter said: “drive to your accounts even though they might not be able to buy. We are going to get through this together”.’
Whatever Maui Jim is doing it appears to be working. Maybe it is the sun, the sea or the wind in the palm trees but the aloha spirit is certainly alive and well among the vendors in the kiosks lining Ka’anapali beach.