Apparel
Foothill Ranch-based fashion retailer Wet Seal Inc. said it plans to begin a process to eventually close its contemporary Arden B division and allow it to put more resources into a turnaround bid for its larger namesake chain. The Wet Seal chain focuses primarily on teenage girls and has 478 stores. Arden B offers contemporary merchandise geared to young women at 54 locations. Wet Seal said 31 of the stores will become Wet Seal Plus stores carrying plus-sized merchandise. The other 23 stores making up the Arden chain will become regular Wet Seal stores. The changes are expected to be done by late July as retailers head into the back-to-school season. Fifteen stores with the Wet Seal nameplate will eventually be shuttered this year and another 16 in 2015. The company said it plans to negotiate with landlords on the remaining stores (see related story, page 1).
Aviation
A new chief executive has been named at Costa Mesa-based Leading Edge Aviation Services Inc. Jude Dozor was most recently president and chief executive of C&D Zodiac in La Palma, a Zodiac Aerospace subsidiary. Leading Edge paints aircraft. Interim Chief Executive Chris Harano returns to the president’s position.
Finance
Irvine-based Banc of California Inc. agreed to buy the California branch network of Popular Community Bank for $5.4 million. Banc of California had about $3.6 billion in total assets as of the end of last year and is among the largest banks headquartered in Orange County. The acquisition includes 20 Popular Community retail branches, more than $1 billion in deposits and about $1.1 billion in assets. The deal is expected to boost Banc of California’s assets to more than $5 billion, which would put it atop the OC rankings and bring its number of office and branch locations to more than 100.
Manufacturing
Tustin-based Design West Technologies Inc. won a $9.5 million contract from the Army Contracting Command in Warren Mich., for up to 650 filter fan housing assemblies for military devices that purify air. The contract specifies work is to be done by October 2020.
Real Estate
The U.S. Department of Justice announced it seized more than $700,000 from the sale of a Newport Beach house owned by former South Korean President Doo Hwan Chun’s son. It seized the money in February because it said Jae Yong Chun bought it with proceeds “allegedly traceable” to the former state head’s political corruption. Jae Yong bought the Port Manleigh Place house in 2005 for $2.2 million.
Other
Some people in the Chinese-American community in Irvine protested a decision by the city to suspend its “friendship city” program after complaints from Vietnamese-Americans that a proposed partnership with a city in Vietnam would connect Irvine with a regime that abuses human rights. The Chinese-Americans want the city to pursue a partnership with three potential Chinese cities. Mayor Steven Choi told the Orange County Register he had no plans to consider the Chinese cities anew.
