Times Supermarkets

Times Supermarkets

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1949 (1949)
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaii
Number of locations	24 (2020)
Products	Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor
Parent	Pan Pacific International Holdings Corporation
Website	www.timessupermarkets.com

Times Supermarkets (officially Times Supermarkets, Ltd.) is a supermarket chain based in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating 24 outlets across the state of Hawaiʻi. Of these locations, 17 carry the Times brand, five are branded as Big Save (all situated on Kauaʻi), one specializes in food and liquor under the name Fujioka's Wine Times, and there is a single store operating as Shima's Supermarket located in Waimānalo.

History

The origins of Times Supermarkets trace back to 1949 when brothers Albert and Wallace Teruya—descendants of Okinawan immigrants—established the first store in Honolulu. The company quickly expanded its footprint throughout Hawaiʻi. As the state's second-largest and second-oldest supermarket chain, Times follows closely behind Foodland, which was founded a year earlier in 1948. Alongside Foodland, Times competes with major retailers such as Safeway, Costco, Don Quijote, Target, and Walmart.

In 2002, the Teruya family sold Times Supermarkets to PAQ, a company based in Stockton, California that operates Food 4 Less stores. After divesting from Times, the Teruyas went on to acquire ownership of Honolulu’s Ilima Hotel.

Times expanded further in 2008 by purchasing Shima's Market located in Waimānalo, Hawaii. The following year, in 2009, Times acquired Star Markets—a Honolulu-based supermarket chain founded in 1940 and owned by the Fujieki family—thereby increasing its number of locations within the Honolulu area. Subsequently, two of Star Markets’ seven stores were sold to CVS Pharmacy for conversion into Longs Drugs outlets; this move was part of CVS’s strategy to limit Walgreens' market entry by securing key retail sites.

In 2011, Times acquired the Big Save supermarket chain on Kauai from the Kawakami and Furugen families. Of the six Big Save stores, five remained open after the acquisition while one was closed due to proximity to an existing Times location.

On June 28, 2017, PAQ—which managed Times, Big Save, and Shima's through its subsidiary QSI, Inc.—announced a sale of these assets to Don Quijote Holdings Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo but with a Honolulu-based division. The transaction was finalized in the third quarter of 2017 through a stock purchase agreement. This acquisition merged Times with three Don Quijote stores and two Marukai outlets on Oʻahu. Edwin Sawai, president of Don Quijote (USA) Co., Ltd. and Marukai Hawaii Co. Ltd., expressed enthusiasm about integrating Times into their family of stores and employees. He highlighted their commitment to combining expertise and serving Hawaii’s community effectively. Having been a local retail mainstay for over 68 years, Times’ legacy is expected to continue under new ownership. Don Quijote subsequently rebranded as Pan Pacific International Holdings to reflect its expansion beyond discount retail operations.