Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Orange County-based brands Rip Curl and Billabong reported brisk sales of bikinis featured in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which hit newsstands earlier this month. It was the first appearance of Rip Curl merchandise in the annual issue, while Billabong appeared for the second year in a row.
Irvine-based molecular diagnostic company CombiMatrix Corp. said Chief Commercial Officer Mark McDonough will become chief executive on March 15. McDonough will succeed R. Judd Jessup, who plans to retire after serving as chief executive since 2010. McDonough came to CombiMatrix last year to build up the company’s sales force and lead its commercial efforts. His background includes positions at Burlington, N.C.-based Laboratory Corp. of America. Shares of CombiMatrix jumped last week after a report on the Seeking Alpha investor website suggested that its stock price will double by the end of the month based on its fourth-quarter and full-year results, which are due this week. Shares closed up 136% to about $7 and a market value of $7.2 million, and fell back only slightly by week’s end. CombiMatrix saw its shares shoot up more than 200% in December after it said two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine validated its test offerings. CombiMatrix offers DNA-based testing services to the prenatal, pediatric and oncology markets.
The U.S. unit of Italian equipment maker Biesse Group is slated to open a West Coast showroom in Anaheim. The company, which specializes in making machines for woodworking, glass and stone processing, also plans to use the space for in-house educational events.
Grading and site work at the long-delayed Marblehead coastal development in San Clemente could move ahead later this year, although a clear timeline for homebuilding at the 248-acre site remains in limbo. The property’s owner, New York-based financier Lehman Brothers, said it has reached agreement with a new partner, Arch Insurance Co., to fund early-stage development work at the site. The new plan, just approved by the city, calls for grading and site work for the retail component of the development to start this spring, along with work on parks and trails. Newport Beach-based developer Steve Craig plans a 600,000-square-foot outlet mall at the site, just off the San Diego (5) Freeway. Plans for 310 high-end homes at Marblehead appear likely to be pushed off until 2014 at the earliest, according to local reports. Lehman officials said the company would likely not begin a marketing program for the project or sell lots to prospective homebuilders until at least next year, according to a report by San Clemente Patch.
Santa Ana-based LA Boxing was sold on undisclosed terms to an affiliate Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas, a mixed-martial arts organization and major producer of pay-per-view events featuring the sport. LA Boxing has 81 gyms for boxing, kick-boxing and mixed martial arts. Another 50 are said to be in development. UFC Gym has headquarters in Carlsbad and operates five full-service gyms in California and Hawaii.
The US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach will allow surf brands other than its official sponsors to participate in the event as part of a trade show called The Boardroom, which expects to offer hundreds of booths for exhibitors on a 50,000-square foot section of the beach. Cypress-based Vans Inc., a unit of VF Corp. in Greensboro, N.C., recently signed on as title sponsor of this year’s U.S. Open of surfing, which is set for July 20-28. Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike Inc. declined to renew its contract as title sponsor late last year. Nike’s Costa Mesa-based Hurley International LLC and Andover, Mass.-based Converse Inc. units declined to renew deals for secondary sponsorships of the surf event, which is produced by New York-based IMG Worldwide.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Occupancy and average daily rates for hotel rooms in Orange County in 2012. Occupancy rose to 75% from 72.8% in 2011, while the average daily rate climbed by about 5% to $150.20 from $142.45. Luxury hotels here saw a 7.8% increase on the average daily rate, to $295.86.
