Revenue generated by Orange County’s largest women-owned businesses grew about 35% since the recession and is on par with the national growth for the same time period.
“All of us had a bad time in 2008 and 2009, and some are no longer in business,” said Rosemarie Smith, founder and chief executive of Systems Source Inc. in Irvine. “You had to be strong to make it.”
Smith’s Irvine-based furniture dealership, whose clients include Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations and Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash., didn’t just survive but nearly doubled its sales—it reported $66 million for 2007 and $120 million last year. The firm placed No. 5 on the Business Journal’s list of women-owned businesses, which highlights local companies with a minimum of $5 million in annual revenue and at least 51% ownership by females—a standard for certification by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
This year’s group—114 companies—posted $3.9 billion in revenue last year, a 6.5% year-over-year increase. Together they employ about 34,442 workers, a 5.1% increase over the 12-month period that ended in May. Their combined local workforce totaled 8,096 jobs, about the same as the year-ago period.
Looking Back
The top 40 companies on the list accounted for the bulk of last year’s sales, about $3.1 billion. Nearly a decade ago, a similar group, which includes 17 on the current list, posted $2.3 billion in sales.
The 35% increase since 2007 tracks the gains by women-owned businesses nationwide, according to a report by American Express OPEN, which sourced the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners and the January 2016 Gross Domestic Product estimates at the national, state, city and industry levels.
About 11.3 million women-owned businesses generated $1.6 trillion in revenue, a 35% increase from 2007, according to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses report. The firms nationwide employed 9 million people, an 18% increase since the recession. OC’s largest 40 women-owned businesses, meanwhile, posted a 210% increase in collective employment during the same period.
Smith, who cut her workforce by 31% in 2007 to 93, now has 163 employees. She credits her company’s success to being able to attract and retain “quality people.”
“They’re the most important thing you have,” Smith said, adding, “Our industry is changing. When I got into it 60% to 70% of the workforce was female but all the management was male. Now you’re seeing more women in powerful positions.”
This Year’s Highlights
About half of the companies on this week’s list—59—reported an increase in revenue, 23 said they were down, three were flat, and revenue for the remaining 29 was estimated. All are from a wide variety of industries, ranging from healthcare technology and cybersecurity to restaurant chains and contract manufacturing.
• No. 1, In-N-Out Burgers Inc., had $807.1 million in revenue, a 7.3% increase. Lynsi Snyder, the granddaughter of the company’s late founders, turned 35 this year and became the sole owner of the Irvine-based burger chain. In-N-Out accounted for a big chunk of the gains in employment—it has 2,350 workers in OC and employs 25,324 companywide, a 6.9% uptick. The chain, like Systems Source, doubled its annual revenue since the recession.
• Irvine-based Technologent, No. 2, was up 19.1% last year to $293 million. Lezlie Gallaway owns 51% of the technology infrastructure provider, which increased the number of its OC-based employees from 68 to 74 and its companywide count to 192, a 12.9% uptick.
• Sales at No. 3, Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel, dipped 3% to $242.5 million. The dealership, owned by Lorelei Pingree, reduced its employee count by 10.7% to 250.
• Elmore Toyota moved up a spot to No. 4 with $126.5 million in revenue, a 7.1% decrease. The company, which is majority owned by the founder’s daughter, Judy Elmore, employs 120 workers, a 9.8% dip.
• This is the last year on the list for No. 6, Royalty Carpet Mills Inc. in Irvine, which had an estimated $100 million in revenue last year. President and Chief Executive Andrea Greenleaf shuttered the company last month, and laid off 278 workers in OC, and another 134 at its facility in Porterville. The company owns three large facilities in OC, near John Wayne Airport. Real estate sources tell the Business Journal that a deal is in place to sell those properties.
There are 16 newcomers to the list. Notables include Costa Mesa-based Slater Builders Inc., which debuted at No. 23 with $35.5 million in revenue, a 54.3% increase. Chief Executive Lizabeth Slater established the business in 1993. Carla Whitehead’s CJW Construction Inc. in Yorba Linda followed at No. 37 with $23.6 million, up 44.9% from 2015.
