SLO Spencer’s to close, be replaced by Grocery Outlet
Spencer’s Fresh Markets in the Laguna Village Shopping Center in San Luis Obispo is closing at the end of January and will be replaced by two new stores, according to the business and mall management.
Digital West adds New York node, looks to Australia
San Luis Obispo-based Digital West Networks has added a data co-location center in New York and is set to bring another online in Australia early next year.
Lucas to retire from UCSB after 36 years
Gene Lucas, longtime executive vice chancellor of US Santa Barbara and a fixture on campus for more than three decades, will retire at the end of the year, the university said Dec. 10.
Investors happy to pay retail for prime shopping properties
There were no Black Friday markdowns on prime retail buildings in the Tri-Counties. In recent weeks, two high-profile retail properties have changed hands in deals totaling more than $31 million.
Inogen files IPO to raise up to $86.2M
Inogen was founded in 2001 by three UCSB students, one of whom had a grandmother who had recently been placed on oxygen therapy. The therapy required heavy, bulky oxygen tanks that could not be taken on airplanes and other places.
After winning the New Venture Competition business plan contest at UCSB, the team went on to develop a device that used electricity to concentrate oxygen from the air. The concentrators were lighter and less bulky, weighting between 4.8 and 7 pounds.
Transphorm, Fujitsu join forces on GaN
Transphorm, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Semiconductor said they had reached an agreement to merge their gallium-nitride, or GaN, power supply lines of business. The deal is expected to result in Fujitsu and its semiconductor subsidiary both taking minority stakes in Transphorm in exchange for creating a new entity in Japan that will be capable of high-volume production. The companies said the move will “dramatically improve the market competitiveness of Transphorm’s GaN power device business.”
