Thriving Industries Based in LA That You Would’ve Never Guessed
Hint: it’s not Hollywood.
I’m a native Bostonian of 15 years, so naturally, I faced my move to Los Angeles last year with trepidation. Reality TV shows like The Rich Kids of Beverly Hills have made me worried that I’ll never fit in.
But LA pleasantly surprised me. It’s geographically expansive and quite diverse. The westside tech ecosystem that I’m happily ensconced in touches many industries that have a presence in LA. I discovered that there are some thriving industries that are based in LA but most people outside of the city probably don’t know about.
Exploring all that LA has to offer made me very excited about shipping and logistics. LA has a big part to play in the future of logistics tech because it is a hub to all the components of supply and demand for it.
Import & export trade
LA has the two busiest ports in the western hemisphere — Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. 15 million TEU’s (or equivalents of 20’ long by 8’ tall shipping containers) pass through these ports every year. $1B in goods come in and out everyday.
These ports have also been going through some amazing automation in recent years. Here is a video showing the new automated container terminal at the Port of LA, to become a reality by next year. By 2020, automated terminals will handle about a third of both ports’ cargo volume.
How do clothing, electronics, furniture, you name it, get to you from the manufacturers in Asia? Most of them come through the ports in LA.
Manufacturing
Continuing on the shipping value chain, LA is also a major manufacturing hub, whereby it is home to the largest manufacturing workforce in the country at over 500,000 workers. They make everything from transportation equipment, apparel, fabricated metal products, computers and electronics.
City of Industry, a strange town with a population of only 200, is aptly named for the manufacturers and distributors lining the streets. They are alternately filled with electronics and furniture shipped overseas from China, awaiting distribution to all corners of the United States.
Consumer brands
LA is home to the headquarters for many consumer brands, both established and upcoming. LA has great consumer marketing and branding talent that are building the rising stars.
On the historic brands, many people know that Disney and Mattel are based here, but did you also know that Forever 21, 7 for All Mankind, Vince, Oakley, Skechers, Lucky Brand, and BCBGMAXAZRIA are also based here?
On the new digitally native internet brands, we have Stance for socks, JustFab and Goop for for women’s fashion, MVMT for watches, and MeUndies for underwear, to name a few.
Our vantage point
We have a number of these new digitally native internet brands in our portfolio, many of which are vertically integrated and own the entire manufacturing and shipping supply chain. For example, we’re investors in Ring video doorbell, Fame & Partners for customized apparel, Parachute Home for bedding, Ritual for vitamins, Goat for sneakers, Seedling for children’s products, Loot Crate for geeks’ products, FabFitFun for lifestyle, and DailyLook for fashion — and that’s just those in LA.
Through working with our portfolio companies, we experience first hand their challenges with shipping and logistics. In many cases, they work with an old world infrastructure that cannot match up with their demand for cloud-based SaaS products, communication, collaboration, speed, integration, and scale.
Putting it together, LA has the crucial components of both supply and demand for the shipping and logistics industry. We’re an unique ecosystem that straddles the old and the new, the behemoths and the rising stars.
So I’ve been digging in. If you’re building a startup innovating on shipping, logistics, or supply chain, drop me a line at chang@upfront.com.
This is the first article in a series about shipping and logistics. Other articles are:
- Thriving Industries Based in LA That You Would’ve Never Guessed
- The Big and Hairy Problems in Shipping and Logistics
- The Evolution of Logistics: Is the Industry Ready for Your Startup?
- How We Evaluate Startups in Shipping and Logistics
