by The Editors on June 19, 2007
Carlsbad isn’t all golf, eyewear, and screen printed T-shirts. No. There is some serious science going on in these hills. In fact, Invitrogen Corporation has just announced that it’s launching a new “engineered stem cell line” that will help researchers and possibly medical ethicists.
Acccording to brainiac Joydeep Goswami vice president, stem cells and regenerative medicine this is how it works:
The BG01v/hOG cell line is a tool that can make stem cell research faster, easier and more reliable. It is crucial for stem cell researchers to know if the cells they are working with are still pluripotent, or if they have already begun to differentiate. With this line, they can quickly make that determination and simultaneously monitor whether their media composition is optimal for keeping the cells undifferentiated.”
Huh?
[Link: BioResearch Online]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
Every day we learn new things about this place. For instance, Carlsbad-based Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. (a company we’ve never heard of before) just sold their Royal Robbins division (which they bought in 2003 for $11.7 million) to Kellwood Company for $40 million in cash (subject to a working capital adjustment). Not a bad transaction.
Commenting on the transaction, Jim Riedman, Chairman of Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc., said, “Royal Robbins is an outstanding brand with strong revenues and a very loyal following, and we are very pleased with a three-fold return we expect to achieve on this asset in just over a three-year period.
Pheonix’s other brands include Tommy Bahama Footwear, Trotters, SoftWalk, Strol, H.S. Trask, and Altama footwear, and Chambers Belts.
Okay, so we’ve heard of Tommy Bahama before. And now we know the rest of the story.
[Link: Earthtimes.org]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
Ashworth, Inc. the Carlsbad based “on-course” golf apparel and sportwear line reported their second quarter 2007 financials today and the news was bad in pretty much every quarter. Net revenue was down $7 million, the net loss for the quarter was $2.5 million and their consolidated gross margin decreased “650 basis points” to 38.8 percent. But CEO Peter Weil is optimistic of course:
Throughout the second quarter, we continued to execute on the strategic initiatives our Board and management team identified during the second half of 2006. While we continue to face challenges, we believe the initiatives being implemented will help better position the Company for sustainable and profitable growth,” he said in the press release. “Despite the challenges in the second quarter, we are excited about the future of Ashworth. We have taken a number of steps that are designed to build a more efficient and effective organization, including the recently announced personnel changes.”
Spin, Peter, spin.
[Link:Business Wire]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
by The Editors on June 16, 2007
Horace Hogan II, the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Carlsbad-based residential development company Brehm Communities has been selected to receive the prestigious 2007 City of Hope Spirit of Life Award. A gala will be held in his honor on Saturday, June 16, 2007 at the San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina.
This event offers members of the construction industry a unique opportunity to unite in tribute to a respected colleague and make a significant contribution to City of Hope, a world-renowned biomedical research and treatment facility.
[Link: City of Hope via SD Union Tribune]
by The Editors on June 15, 2007
TaylorMade-adidas recently cut 41 employees and more than half of those were from the Carlsbad office.
Scott Leightman, a company spokesman, said the layoffs were relatively minor for a company the size of TaylorMade-adidas, which has more than 1,400 employees worldwide.
According to golf industry watchers the industry is currently not growing. “TaylorMade-adidas appears to be properly cautious. The golf industry is not growing, said McAndrew, editor of Web Street Golf Report, and the company is being careful not to overextend itself.”
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on June 14, 2007
A while back, in Barring the Barrio, we mentioned that it seems like any time the people of Carlsbad decide they’d like to walk somewhere, that instead of building walkways, walls get built.
The Starbucks on the corner of Grand and Coast Highway is the most recent victim of this mentality. A silly little fence has been erected to keep people from walking from the Village Faire Shopping Center parking lot across a small strip of grass to Starbucks. A simple walkway with four steps and a handrail would have likely cost less, however, in went a wall. We wonder if this isn’t the sign of a deeper problem brewing at the Village Faire. . .
by The Editors on June 14, 2007
Maybe we should start golfing. Seems like all the business news in Carlsbad is balls deep. Check this:
Callaway Golf Co., the sports equipment-maker that sued a subsidiary of Deerfield-based Fortune Brands Inc. last year for infringing four of its golf ball patents, filed a second lawsuit against its rival, this time over five of its patents for clubs.
Balls and clubs. . . oh, yeah. One more thing: According to Forbes, Last Thursday Steven C. McCracken, the chief administrative officer, senior executive vice president and secretary of Callaway exercised 40,700 options at $16.56 then sold them for $18.60 for a nice $83,028.
[Link: Chicago Tribune]
by The Editors on June 13, 2007
Carlsbad’s Tony Hawk has pretty much thrown his name on anything that will pay him. But, aside from that, most of them have made sense. Even the helmet mounted video camera could somehow be tied back to skateboarding of a product that Tony would actually eat, drink, or play with. Now, Tony has handed over his name to Dynacraft bikes.
Tony Hawk bikes will be completely different than anything Dynacraft has distributed in the past,” said John Bisges, managing director at Dynacraft. “They will have higher end components, updated frames and the most cutting edge graphics ever.
Thank God for cutting edge graphics.
[Link: Bicycle Retailer]
by The Editors on June 6, 2007
We know there are flocks of private jets flying in and out of Carlsbad airport every day, but soon there will be more as Spectrum Aeronautical opens their headquarters and operations center in 8,000 square feet of office and hanger space at McClellan-Palomar Airport.
“The new location at Palomar is ideal for us. The airport provides excellent visibility for our aircraft programs, and its convenience is a real plus,” said Austin Blue, president of Spectrum Aeronautical.
The company has two jets under production: the “Independence” (model S-33 eight-place light jet) and the “Freedom” (model S-40 nine-place mid-sized jet), both are scheduled for certification by 2010. That’s perfect for us. That’s about the time we’ll need one.
[Link: Expansion Management]
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