While it’s too early to assess the impact of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction, several Orange County-based companies could see some fallout from the powerful storm that ripped through New Orleans and other cities along the Gulf Coast, shuttering oil and gas operations and killing scores of residents.
Clothing makers Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. of Anaheim and Wet Seal Inc. of Foothill Ranch each have two stores within 11 miles of New Orleans.
A phone call to the Wet Seal store at the Espanade Mall in Kenner, La., just outside New Orleans, wasn’t answered. But the clerk at a Baton Rouge, La.-based PacSun store 60 miles to the east of New Orleans said it was open.
“We were closed Monday, but now we’re really busy,” said the clerk, who declined to be identified.
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., a Mexican fast food chain, has 20 restaurants within 10 miles of New Orleans and five within 10 miles of Biloxi, Miss.
It’s not clear how many of the Taco Bell, PacSun and Wet Seal are franchises or company-owned stores.
Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. operates a Bryman College campus about 10 miles to the west of downtown New Orleans. Corinthian didn’t return calls for comment on the campus’ status.
The government sales team at Santa Ana-based computer products distributor Ingram Micro Inc. has identified key Federal Emergency Management Agency resellers to help customers affected by the hurricane get priority service.
Perhaps most impacted by the hurricane will be Aliso Viejo-based engineering services provider Fluor Corp.
For more on this story, see the Sept. 5 edition of the Business Journal.
