Ala Moana’s Longtime Leasing Exec Wrote the Book on the Mall’s History

The move from modeling to retail leasing can actually be quite linear. Kay Day’s a good example. The recently retired, longtime leasing agent at Ala Moana Center is credited with bringing the first set of luxury tenants to the tony center. Day, who officially took off her real estate cap at Ala Moana after 22 years in 2017, spent all of last year doing research on the property to document its history in a recently released coffee table book in which she provides a glimpse into the former marshland owned by Hawaii’s royal family into what is now a 2.4-million-square-foot tourist and local attraction, generating more than $1.4 billion in annual sales. Later this year Ala Moana turns 60. Before Day’s start merchandising Ala Moana, she briefing modeled, linking with an agency and working in Tokyo for about six months before returning to Hawaii for college as an English major. “I wanted to major in English because I loved to read and write, and I wanted to write a book. But…life got in the way,” said Maui-born Day. She later married and moved to Toronto, where she lived near Bloor Street, which exposed her to luxury brands such as Holt Renfrew. Trips to London brought

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from WWDWWD http://bit.ly/2JUoids