Midtown Radio and Disco Mart have been in business a combined 95 years in Wai-pahu, and the owners believe the key to their longevity and success has been their focus on what they do best.

"We like to give the customer a feeling of being very comfortable. A country, homey type of atmosphere," said Marge Funasaki, daughter of Midtown Radio and Disco Mart founders Toshio and Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Funasaki and her sister, Eunice Soeda, run the stores with their 85-year-old mother Yoshiko. The sisters took over operations of the company from their father more than 30 years ago after working as schoolteachers.

The family has seen the business climate change in Waipahu over the years with the demise of sugar and the loss of landmark stores such as Arakawa's. But through it all, the Yamamoto family has managed to keep both stores profitable despite the entrance of big-box appliance, electronics and furniture stores in and around Waipahu.

This year, Midtown Radio celebrated its 60th year in business, while the Disco Mart appliance and furniture store its 35th anniversary. Like many mom-and-pop operations, the two stores survived on hard work and dedication.

"Father was never afraid of competition," Soeda said. "He felt that as long as you work hard, there's no way that you can really fail."

Toshio Yamamoto was working for O'ahu Sugar in the 1940s when he began taking electronics and radio correspondence courses because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life on the plantation. In 1947, Yamamoto opened Midtown Radio on Waipahu Depot Road and was one of the earliest, if not first, electronics store in Waipahu.

Yoshiko Yamamoto managed Midtown Radio while her husband split his time between the store and his job at O'ahu Sugar. The Yamamotos carried radios and also repaired small appliances.

Business was slow at first, but Midtown Radio gained many loyal customers and began to grow.

"People used to say that Mr. Yamamoto gave me an antenna, or they bought some furniture and he gave you a table," Funasaki said. "That's how it started out. Don't make money, but get the customers into the store."

Once the store was on solid ground, customers started asking Yamamoto about household furniture, so he added beds and tables to his inventory. Because Midtown Radio has always been housed in small buildings (the current store on Farrington Highway is the Midtown's fourth location), Yamamoto bought a parcel on Leonui Street in Waipahu and opened the Disco Mart in 1972.

"(Father) found out, 'When I sell a bed, no one calls me for repairs. This is great,' " Soeda said. "It went from a bed to a sofa to tables and lamps. He saw that it was pretty good business, and that's when he said he'll open a furniture store."

The sisters aren't sure why their father named the store "Disco Mart," except that it may be short for "Discount" and "Mart." The name preceded the disco dance era, although they still get an occasional call for disco services.

When Disco Mart opened, Funasaki, 64, and Soeda, 62, were teaching and had no interest in joining their parents in the business.

"We said we would never be part of the company," Funasaki said.

But "never" turned into "we'll try it out" after Funasaki returned from the Mainland and couldn't find a teaching job and Soeda took a break from teaching after having children.

"I couldn't stand being at home so I asked my father, 'Can I work for you while I'm on leave,' and you never saw a bigger smile on his face," Soeda said.

Yamamoto quickly turned over control of the business to his only children. He was available for advice, but otherwise let his girls learn on their own.

"He never really held our hands and said, 'This is what you should do.' He just said, 'Do it,' " Soeda said.

Soeda and Funasaki said it was tough at first because furniture and electronics sales at the time were a man's world. But they stuck with their father's philosophy of providing quality merchandise, good prices and friendly service and have managed to survive for more than 30 years.

One of the wisest moves the women made was to join the Nationwide West buying group more than 20 years ago. The buyers group allows independent businesses to purchase electronics, furniture and appliances in bulk from major manufacturers at prices that are competitive with the big boxes.

The sisters did not want to reveal annual sales from the two stores, but did say that a requirement to be members of the buying group is a minimum $1 million in gross sales.

The company is still small (18 employees) and the sisters don't see much expansion in the future. Both said their top concern is keeping their customers happy, which was the main thing they learned from their father, who died in 1992.

"I never thought that losing him would mean that we'd close the store. In fact, it gave us more incentive to continue his dream. Our father loved his work. This was like a hobby," Soeda said. "If the big boxes would take care of their customers the way we do, we'd definitely be out of business."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.