Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc.’s board chair and three other directors resigned in what the teen and contemporary retail chain described as a resolution of differences with a major shareholder. New York-based asset management firm Clinton Group Inc., which owns 6.9% of Wet Seal’s shares, had called for the removal and replacement of four board members and a new director to fill a vacant seat. Wet Seal Chair Hal Kahn resigned. He will remain with the company on a consulting basis. Wet Seal Directors Jonathan Duskin, Sidney Horn and Henry Winterstern also resigned. The outgoing directors will be replaced by: Mindy Meads, a former chief executive of New York-based retailer Aeropostale Inc.; John Mills, a former chief operating office of Aeropostale; Dorrit Bern, former chief executive of Charming Shoppes Inc. in Pennsylvania; and Lynda Davey, co-founder and chief executive of investment bank Avalon Group in New York. Wet Seal will keep former Chief Executive Kathy Bronstein, John Goodman and Ken Reiss on the board. Wet Seal has been without a chief executive since July when the board fired former Chief Executive Susan McGalla following a sales slump. The chain has 473 Wet Seal stores geared to teens and 81 Arden B stores for young women. It had $620.1 million in revenue in 2011.
Irvine-based 5.11 Tactical Inc. expanded its outdoor-clothing offerings with its purchase of Beyond Clothing LLC on undisclosed terms. Seattle-based Beyond Clothing makes fleece and waterproof clothing, including jackets, vests and pants for men and women. 5.11 Tactical sells uniforms, outerwear, footwear and other gear to police officers, firefighters, military personnel and emergency response workers.
The two largest automakers based in Orange—Hyundai Motor America Inc. and Kia Motors America Inc.—broke respective sales records in September. Hyundai, which has temporary headquarters in Costa Mesa while its Fountain Valley campus is being built, sold 60,025 vehicles in September, or 15% more than a year earlier. It was a record 25th-straight month of year-over-year monthly increases for Hyundai. Irvine-based Kia sold 48,105 vehicles, up 35% from September 2011. It was the 25th time in a row that Kia has posted record sales on a monthly basis. Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. sold 1,921 vehicles in September in a 5% dip from a year earlier, Mazda North American Operations of Irvine sold 24,135 vehicles for a 5% decline, and Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. sold 4,806 vehicles in a 17% fall-off.
Rosemead-based South-ern California Edison asked federal regulators for the go-ahead on restarting one reactor at the utility’s San Onofre nuclear plant near Orange County’s southern boundary. The facility was shut down eight months ago after radiation escaped through generator tubes.
Some details emerged regarding plans to replace Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine with a smaller venue in the nearby Orange County Great Park. A land lease held by venue owner Live Nation Entertainment of Beverly Hills expires in 2017, prompting the move. The 16,300-seat concert venue has been the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s summer home. The new amphitheater is planned as 8,000 seats with a 200-person lawn area. Irvine parks officials are mulling two sites in the south-central portion of OC Great Park, which itself remains a work in progress. The Verizon Amphitheater site will be redeveloped by land owner Irvine Company plans to build apartments on the site.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford extended an injunction blocking a competitor to Irvine-based Allergan Inc.’s flagship Botox. The order prohibits Merz Aesthetics, a U.S. unit of Germany’s Merz Pharma GmbH, from selling its Xeomin drug for cosmetic use in the U.S. until Jan. 9.
The average daily rate for Orange County hotels rose 7% from a year earlier in August, to $167.32, industry researcher PKF Consulting USA said. The area’s occupancy rate climbed almost 3% to 82%.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
UP: The median price for a home in Orange County in August, which saw a 3% increase a year earlier and 1% from July, according to Irvine-based data service CoreLogic. The median price excluding distressed sales climbed 4% from a year earlier and almost 2% from July.
MIXED: The picture on sales of OC businesses, which rose 14% in September compared with a year earlier and 46% from August but are down by 16% year to date, according to BizBen.com.
