Port of Everett officials have delayed a planned trip to Japan because the country is struggling with the massive damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The port had planned to visit customers who make aerospace parts in the Hiroshima area, but going in April as planned would be too soon, officials said Tuesday. “For the most part, the aerospace industry is largely unscathed,” said John Mohr, port director. But he said the port will likely wait until early next year. The port’s airline tickets aren’t refundable, but the port can rebook them for up to a year later, Mohr said.
Zumiez sales grow 15 percent in March
Sales increased 15 percent in March, Everett-based Zumiez Inc. said Wednesday. The company, which sells action sports items, reported net sales of $41.2 million during the five-week period ending April 2 compared to $35.8 million for the same period last year. Sales at stores open at least a year, called comparable stores, increased 8.9 percent for the five-week period, versus a comparable store sales increase of 13.2 percent in the year-ago period. Zumiez recently announced that it was building a bigger headquarters building in Lynnwood and would move there to house its growing company and to be a little closer to Seattle.
Port development clears bankruptcy
Everett Maritime, the Chicago company that filed for bankruptcy while a partner with the Port of Everett in a $400 million waterfront redevelopment plan, is not appealing the port’s efforts to clear the firm’s involvement with the property. Port officials said Tuesday that Maritime didn’t appeal the end of the Chicago bankruptcy case. That means there are no legal encumbrances on the property and that the port can do want it wants with the area. The developer had planned to build more than 600 condominiums near a new marina for large boats. Port officials will combine a planning process to decide what to do with the area and what’s needed for boaters in the marina.
Toyota to add new services on Web
Microsoft and Toyota Motor are partnering to integrate Web services with Toyota’s vehicles. The companies are investing $12 million in a Toyota subsidiary to develop and roll out “telematics” applications for cars, which could provide features like GPS, power-management and multimedia services. The services will use Microsoft’s Windows Azure, a system for building and using software over the Internet. Toyota’s 2012 hybrid vehicles will be the first to get the services, and by 2015 it expects to offer them to customers worldwide. Microsoft has been involved in the auto market for several years — it designed Ford’s Sync entertainment system, which was rolled out in 2007 and lets drivers do things such as make phone calls, listen to incoming text messages and use GPS to get turn-by-turn directions.
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