Biz News: South Coast Plaza Christmas tree arrives Tuesday
South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa will welcome the annual arrival of its Christmas tree on Tuesday.
The 96-foot-tall white fir from Mount Shasta will placed in Town Center Park across from the mall.
The tree traditionally arrives in mid-October to give workers time to install 20,000 lights and other decorations in time for the lighting ceremony featuring Santa Claus, which will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19.
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Hurley founder retiring
Hurley International founder and Chief Executive Bob Hurley is retiring from the Costa Mesa-based action-sports clothing company.
Parent company Nike said Hurley, 60, will take on a new role focusing on building relationships with athletes and the community.
General Manager and Vice President Bob Coombes, who joined Hurley International in August, will take over its management.
Hurley started the company in 1998 after leaving Billabong USA.
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Wienerschnitzel CEO receives honor
Newport Beach resident and Wienerschnitzel Chief Executive Cindy Galardi Culpepper was honored at The Literacy Project’s sixth annual fundraising gala Sept. 19 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.
Wienerschnitzel, the Irvine-based hot dog chain, was the presenting sponsor of the gala, which raised more than $125,000 to help the Newport Beach-based nonprofit provide a free 30-hour reading program to elementary school students.
“Aligning with The Literacy Project has been an honor for Wienerschnitzel, as we take great pride in helping to better the lives of these children,” Culpepper said in a statement. “Without reading skills, which are vital to a child’s advancement, we could very well be missing out on the development of our future great leaders.”
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Jewelry shopping event to benefit women’s charity
Jewelry brand Kendra Scott will present a fundraiser for MOMS Orange County from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at its Fashion Island store at 235 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.
Twenty percent of sales during the event will benefit the Santa Ana-based nonprofit organization, which offers programs and services to low-income pregnant women.
Free refreshments will be provided to guests while they shop.
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HomeGoods to open Irvine store Oct. 18
Home fashion store HomeGoods plans to open a new store at Woodbury Town Center in Irvine on Oct. 18.
HomeGoods says it offers furniture, rugs, lamps, toys and kitchen, dining, bedding, bath and storage merchandise at prices generally 20% to 60% below department store prices. The new 20,000-square-foot location will be the chain’s 32nd store in the Los Angeles area. The first thousand shoppers at the store will receive a free reusable HomeGoods shopping bag.
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Electric car maker Fisker is now Karma Automotive
Fisker Automotive and Technology Group, the Costa Mesa-based producer of one of the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, has changed its name to Karma Automotive and has a new logo and website.
The company produced the Karma, a plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan, from 2011 to 2012 and is expected to launch an updated version next year.
Karma Automotive is owned by Wanxiang Group, one of the world’s largest automotive component conglomerates.
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Pacific Premier to acquire Security California Bancorp
Irvine-based Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. announced it will acquire Security California Bancorp, the holding company of Security Bank of California for $118.9 million in a deal expected to close early next year.
Riverside-based Security Bank has six branches in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and a loan production office in Los Angeles County.
Security Bank had $734 million in assets and $654 million in deposits as of Aug. 31. The acquisition would boost Pacific Premier’s total assets to $3.4 billion and total deposits to $2.8 billion.
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COS clothing boutique opening at South Coast Plaza
COS, or Collection of Style, is opening a 5,700-square-foot boutique this month at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.
The store, on Level 2 in the Bloomingdale’s wing, will offer men’s, women’s and children’s clothing lines. It is the retailer’s third location in the United States and first in Orange County.
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Newport to host 2016 economic forecast
The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce will present a 2016 economic forecast from 7:15 to 9 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport.
The event will feature the UCLA Anderson Forecast, billed as the leading source of economic analysis for business, government and the academic community.
Speakers will give an overview of the 2016 federal, state and local economy as projected by the Anderson Forecast and an update on Orange County tourism and what to expect next year.
Tickets start at $50 per person. Tables for 10 are available for $500.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit newportbeach.com or call (949) 729-4400.
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Antis Roofing appoints new operations director
Antis Roofing & Waterproofing of Irvine announced that Col. Bradley Fuller has been appointed director of operations.
Fuller, a former military commander and deputy fire chief, will lead development of new processes and procedures for the company and be responsible for all day-to-day activities.
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Costa Mesa office complex sold for $48 million
SteelWave and Goldman Sachs have acquired a 180,000-square-foot office campus in Costa Mesa for $48 million.
The seller, Emulex Corp., occupies the largest of the three buildings at 3333 S. Susan St. The remaining two vacant buildings contain a total of 84,000 square feet.
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Autism therapy center opens in Newport Beach
Trumpet Behavioral Health, which provides autism therapy services, opened a center in Newport Beach last week.
The facility at 4001 Westerly Place will offer school-based behavioral health services, parent and family services, adult development services and free insurance-eligibility reviews.
—From staff reports