I think we can blame the stagnant Japanese economy for the new International Market Place. Designer clothing/goods prices in Hawaii are to Japanese tourists what liquor prices in the Caribbean are to American tourists. The prices are so low compared to what you pay at home that you feel like a kid at Christmas!
When I was in Oahu in December, I felt like a minority among the throngs of Asian tourists, all walking around with shopping bags from stores that I couldn't afford to shop in, and stopping every few feet to take videos/photos on their iPhones. They seemed absolutely enchanted with Oahu.
We also met a man in our hotel elevator who had a (literal) cart full of huge Godiva chocolate boxes. I still wonder what he was going to do with them. Put them in guest rooms as party favors for his daughter's wedding (there are a TON of weddings at Hilton Hawaiian Village)? Ship them home? Eat them?
Anyway, while I'D never go to Hawaii to go clothes shopping, I understand the appeal for people who already live on an island in the Pacific. I also understand the sadness of seeing iconic landmarks go the way of the bulldozer.