Hi - Thanks for the prompt reply. Nice catch. 
It is interesting to note that I have used this particular template dozens of times in Joomla 1.5 without issue; however, the version I have installed is for Joomla 1.6, so I will pass this along to the template author.
To correct this situation in my case, I simply widened the image and corresponding CSS in the tempalate, which was option 2 in your list of suggestions. Again, it is a mystery why HikaShop does this when I use this template. I tried using option 4 in your list, but the style changed so dramatically to a two-toned yellowish color that was in a square container, and that did not look good.