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Coronavirus' Effects on West Coast Business

Coronavirus' Effects on West Coast Business

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It's tripped up supply lines and slowed down traffic at many West Coast ports, and it's spreading fear and instability along the West Coast. With our partners at GeekWire, we talked with businesses from Seattle to L.A. about how they're being affected by coronavirus, and how they're planning for it. We'll be following this crisis, so if you or your businesses has a story to tell us, reach out. Meanwhile, Amazon opens its first cashier-less supermarket in Seattle, and L.A. unions are not pleased. We look at Wall Street's opinion of Disney's new king, and Fifth Wall gets funding to bring more online retailers to brick and mortar homes.

"We are out of inventory," says Susan Paley, chief executive of Echo Park-based DropLabs, a bluetooth-connected sneaker that sends vibrations into foot nerves to amplify a sound experience.

At the nation's largest hub for cargo trade with China — the Los Angeles port — officials are anticipating a 20 to 25% drop in trade this month. Long Beach, the nation's second largest port, expects a 10% fall. And at Seattle and Tacoma port complex, the nation's fifth busiest for cargo, officials have been logging cancellations from vessels bound from China.

We talked with supply chain experts and companies large and small to get a sense of the effects that coronavirus is having on West Coast businesses. Read more >>

Amazon unveiled its supermarket of the future, a grocery store without cashiers or checkout lines. Shoppers get to grab-and-go with a full cart of items that are scanned automatically and billed to their bank accounts. It may be the cutting edge of the grocery industry, but don't expect to see it anytime soon in Los Angeles.

That may be a bummer to consumers looking for a streamlined experience, but it's just fine for many retail workers in L.A., where union officials are gearing up for a fight. Get a look inside Amazon's new store, and read more >>

Shares dipped 2% in trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange a day after Bob Iger announced he'd be stepping down as Disney's CEO. The change puts to rest the long-simmering CEO showdown between Chapek and strategy head Kevin Mayer — a corporate move that would normally send shares surging as a sign of stability. But it also spread early jitters about how the surprise ascension would play out. Read more >>

Fifth Wall doesn't believe retail is dying. The real estate-focused venture capital firm announced that it raised a $100 million fund to bring e-commerce brands to brick-and-mortar storefronts. Backed by some of the biggest names in real estate including mall owner Macerich and Acadia Realty Trust, Fifth Wall is tapping into the growth of online retailers as the companies seek to expand with a physical store. Read more >>