UH Retail Business Plan Competition

Dr. Young Jin Bahng hosted the UH Retail Business Plan Competition at RISE on April 17, in collaboration with the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE).  This year, the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR; Dean Parwinder Grewal) provided $3,000, and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS; Chair Thao Le) contributed $2,000, in student cash prizes, and PACE provided $1,000 for venue and food expenses. The five finalists gave presentations of their professional business plans based on innovative fashion/retail business ideas that they had created in the Fall 2024 FDM 437 Entrepreneurship in Retail course. The final judges were David Shepard (CEO of David Shepard Hawai‘i), Tina Yamaki (Director of Retail Merchants of Hawaii), Kathy Fugiwara (CEO of ExecHawaii), and Dr. Andy Reilly (Professor of FDM). We sincerely appreciate all of the support from the judges, funders, and FDM staff, students, and faculty. Once more, congrats to the achievers!

• First place: Leah Oto - Craft Cafe  $3,000
• Second Place: Claire LeCours - The Greenhouse  $1,500
• Third Place: Haley Locke - Aloha Blooms $500
• Two Fourth Places: Luphia Landry - Emerald Emelda (i-pad); Eva Robertson - Midnight Sun (i-pad)

By Young Jin Bahng