The Los Angeles Business Journal Digital Edition
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2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Contents Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page labusinessjournal.com LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNALL TM DIGITAL EDITION THE COMMUNITY OF BUSINESS www.labusinessjournal.com/digital WELCOME TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL DIGITAL EDITION To read your copy of the Digital Edition INSTRUCTION Please select a reading preference FOR PC/MAC How to read LABJ Digital Edition on iPad in iBooks: 1 TAP CENTER 2 TAP ‘OPEN WITH’ 3 TAP ‘iBOOKS’ Wait for gray bar with Wait for scroll down menu menu buttons to appear on and tap the iBooks icon. top of the PDF. Wait for PDF to load in iBOOKS. 2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Contents Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page labusinessjournal.com LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL Volume 33, Number 15 THE COMMUNITY OF BUSINESSTM April 11 - 17, 2011 • $3.00 Up Auto Sales Site Front 3-D Projections May Rev Up Infomercials MARKETING: TrueCar links with TV ad titan. By JACQUELYN RYAN Staff Reporter ‘The pig guy in Can online car sales benefit from the L.A.’ really infomercial treatment? wants this That’s what prominent infomercial pro- cook-off prize. ducer Guthy-Renker LLC and L.A. entre- PAGE 3 preneur Scott Painter are betting on. The duo teamed up last week when the TV commercial company made an unusual equity investment in Painter’s TrueCar News & Inc. website, which offers shoppers recent Analysis sales data from nearby dealerships. Guthy-Renker’s Screening Room: transaction is part of a RealD’s Michael larger group of invest- Lewis at the ments in TrueCar that the company’s headquarters in website company expects Beverly Hills. will reach $100 million by the end of the year. RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ Guthy-Renker has grossed billions of dol- lars hiring high-price Renker How Dr. Brandon RealD sets sights MasterImage looks celebrities to promote Colby’s blisters products such as exercise equipment and led him to invent on big summer flicks to glasses-free future self-help DVDs. Its biggest hit has been a genetic testing pimple cream Proactiv, which has been product. PAGE 5 By GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Reporter By NATALIE JARVEY Staff Reporter pitched by Jessica Simpson and other celebrities who are paid big sums. HESE are heady days for RealD Inc., which EALD Inc. is facing challenges from some With TrueCar, the Santa Monica-based People recently announced that more than 15,000 of big-name competitors that want to share the marketing giant is stepping out of its com- Tits 3-D cinema systems are installed in the- R3-D movie spotlight, but what is possibly its fort zone and getting heavily into the Inter- aters worldwide. most worrisome rival has an unusual pedigree. net business. The equity investment will The Beverly Hills company passed the milestone MasterImage 3D Inc. got its start in Seoul, South help fund TrueCar’s expansion, and pay for as the major movie studios are getting ready to Korea, equipping movie theaters with 3-D systems, but a print, radio and TV ad campaign that will launch a flock of projected summer blockbusters in its newest business is developing glasses-free 3-D tech- cost up to $75 million annually. 3-D, including the latest entries in the “Transform- nology for mobile devices and other small screens. “There’s a really good chance to become ers,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and ‘Harry Potter” Though the company moved its headquarters to the market leader,” said Guthy-Renker franchises. That should be great news for RealD, Hollywood last year, it still has employees in its Chief Executive Ben Van De Bunt. which receives a royalty fee of 50 cents a ticket. homeland and strong ties there that have paid off Santa Monica-based TrueCar is the first But RealD, which has 85 percent of the domestic big. The company recently received a $15 million site of its kind that allows would-be car buy- 3-D movie projection market, has a few reasons not investment from South Korean electronics behemoth ers to browse real sales prices without hav- ing to provide personal contact information Who counseled Please see ENTERTAINMENT page 42 Please see TECHNOLOGY page 42 attorney Robert Please see MARKETING page 43 Shapiro to speak low and slow? PAGE 15 Chief Exec Denies American Apparel Is Ready to Fold MAIL TO: CLOTHING: Dov Charney boasts last legs and searching for as little as $5 million to stave off bankruptcy. he’ll be ‘one of the billionaires.’ “American Apparel Really Might Go Bankrupt This Time” was the breathless headline on the Huffington By ALEXA HYLAND Staff Reporter Post. Even ABC morning anchor George Stephanopou- los called asking if he had time for an interview. When Dov Charney’s mother called to check on him In the midst of it all, Charney sat down with the recently, she told the American Apparel Inc. chief Business Journal to defend his company, his handling something he needed to hear: that he’s a survivor. of recent events and his turnaround plans. The flamboyant founder of the hip apparel chain has “I feel I’ve reached a level of personal maturity,” he weathered all sorts of challenges over the past few years, said, “whereby in order to take this to the next level, I including a government audit that ultimately caused need to surround myself with people who are better American Apparel to lose 2,500 immigrant workers. than me in the fields that they operate.” But perhaps nothing quite like last week, when RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ media reports suggested that the company was on its Please see CLOTHING page 41 Defender: American Apparel’s Dov Charney. Real World Insight for Middle Market Companies www.gscpa.com 310.828.9798 2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Contents Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page 2 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL APRIL 11, 2011 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL ® Ourformulaforvalueissimple. APRIL 11 - 17, 2011 VOLUME 33, NUMBER 15 RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ Page 10: International Aero’s Jonathan Saltman at the company’s Bellflower office. Clients tell us that our superior ON THE COVER PEOPLE Grant Thornton service makes their relationship 0-10 Big Other firms Statistically scale LLP Four mentioned significant with Grant Thornton a real value TECHNOLOGY – RealD is hoping for a INTERVIEW – Attorney Robert Shapiro has lower lower yes for them. There’s no greater Audit 8.84 brighter future with a string of blockbusters shifted from criminal to civil cases but still compliment than a strong lower lower yes Tax 8.72 heading for its 3-D-outfitted screens. hears questions about you know who. .15 recommendation, and a recent Value for fees ENTERTAINMENT – MasterImage is client satisfaction survey, 8.38/8.29 lower lower yes (audit/tax) looking to reframe the 3-D sector with its conducted by an independent glasses-free technology. THE LIST research firm funded by CLOTHING – American Apparel’s Grant Thornton LLP, tells the tale. RANKING – The 19 biggest venture capital controversial chief defends his embattled To find out more, access the results at company’s prospects and his lifestyle choices. firms based in Los Angeles County, ranked GrantThornton.com/clientsatisfaction MARKETING – Infomercial giant Guthy- by capital under management. .19 or contact Joel Anik, Managing Partner Renker will be looking to drive more traffic to The 25 biggest private equity firms in Los at 213.596.3484 or [email protected]. Audit • Tax • Advisory new partner TrueCar.com. Angeles County, ranked by private equity assets under management. .21 Grant Thornton refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, an organization of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms. UP FRONT RETAIL – Some Grove vendors are seeing INVESTMENTS & FINANCE crowds but not sales from the taping of celeb Columns & features – Econowatch 29, news show “Extra.” . .3 LABJ Stock Index 30 GOVERNMENT – The MTA has put out a call for the creation of mass-transit apps for the agency’s customers. .3 REAL ESTATE DINING – A pig-cooking contest has given local chefs something to squeal about. .3 HOUSING – Pace of home sales in L.A. Columns & features – Page 3, Regional County slowed by 12 percent in March. .32 Report 4 CHART – A list of March home and condo sales by neighborhood. .32 NEWS & ANALYSIS Columns & features – Real Estate Column 36 HEALTH CARE – Dr. Brandon Colby, who suffers from a rare disease, developed a DNA test to help people and their doctors evaluate L.A. BIZ SEEN health risks. .5 CELEBRATIONS – Photos from L.A. TICKETING – An investor and Tix Corp. management are in a battle for the company’s business community events. .44 future. .5 INVESTMENT – Digital media opportunities COMMENTARY are drawing in L.A.’s venture capital firms. 6 PR – Rogers Group’s founder had to rethink COMMENT – State environmental act CEQA his succession plan after the death last year of spells nothing but trouble for developers, protégé Lynne Doll. .7 writes Charles Crumpley. .46 ADVERTISING – Venice agency Liquid has INSURANCE – Tim DeRoche takes a look at made a big splash with its approach to some possible impacts of federal health care promoting video games. .8 reform on California. .47 RETAIL – International Aero hopes a GOVERNMENT – Tim Cavanaugh calls foul new product line for automobiles stays grounded. .10 over public spending on transportation to and Columns & features – Media Watch 12, from Dodger Stadium.