Teton sock company shuts down
AFTON, Wyo. -- Frannie Huff has shut down her clothing manufacturing business, Wyoming Wear. It produced between 3 million and 4 million fleece socks under the name of Teton Toasters and miscellaneous other items since Huff founded it in 1980.
She didn't send the manufacturing offshore, and probably wouldn't do so if she had the chance to do it all over again, she told the Jackson Hole News&Guide.
"I don't agree with globalization," she said.
Companies using Chinese factories could make a fleece jacket for $25 and sell it on the wholesale market for $50, she explained. It cost Huff $39 to make a similar jacket. That gave her $11 for marketing, compared to $25 for her competitors.
"That's one of the reasons we went out of business—we couldn't afford the cost of marketing," Huff said.
Intrawest parent group loses money
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Fortress Investment Group, the parent company for ski area operator Intrawest, lost $258 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. It lost $322 million altogether last year, and stock prices fell dramatically.
Gated community sold off at auction
PARK CITY, Utah -- Promontory, a half-built gated community near Park City, Utah, is to be sold at auction in mid-April. The developer had defaulted on a $275 million loan from Credit Suisse in December 2007.
About 300 houses have been built on more than 700 platted lots, with eventual plans calling for more than 1,900 houses, The Park Record reported. The newspaper said Credit Suisse, as the agent for first lien holders, had the option of raising $70 million to keep the luxury development afloat. But instead, it is to sell the property to the highest bidder.
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Earlier, The Associated Press had reported the project was the first of several major resort communities to recover from bankruptcy. The projects, located from Hawaii to Florida, were forced into bankruptcy by the real estate meltdown.
Rich Sonntag, Promontory managing director, told The Record that the auction will allow other parties who are more directly involved in the development business to bid for control, and may even accelerate Promontory's rebound from bankruptcy.
Vail city workers decline pay hikes
VAIL, Colo. -- Vail's best-paid municipal employees have declined merit pay increases of 4 percent. Stan Zemler, the town manager, who earns $160,000 a year, and Matt Mire, who earns $132,000 a year, both said thanks but no thanks. Also declining the pay raise was the town judge, Buck Allen, who earns not quite $50 an hour for typically 17 hours of work per week.
Vail's sales tax revenue dropped 13.5 percent in January. The town has already cut more than $7 million from its 2009 budget and eliminated several jobs, the Vail Daily noted.
