Business
Forget the celebrities. Meet L.A.'s small businesses that depend on the Oscars
For more than 20 years, Sherman Oaks florist Mark’s Garden has designed the towering greenery and blooming displays seen at the Oscars.
Getting that Hollywood awards-season work is key, particularly during the business’ typically slow first quarter of the year. And the free advertising that comes with your floral arrangements gracing the year’s biggest stage? Priceless.
“People love being associated with the florist that designs for the Oscars,” owner Michael Uncapher said. “It has shaped our reputation in a way no marketing campaign ever could.”
A report commissioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences estimated that the economic effect of last year’s Oscars and related events was $134 million in Los Angeles County, when using conservative estimates for visitor counts, average hotel rates and personal spending.
Last year, the nonprofit reported that its “Academy Awards and related activities” brought in about $147 million in revenue, which includes the nonprofit’s TV licensing deal with Walt Disney Co.’s ABC.
But despite long-term pressure on the event’s TV ratings, the Oscars remain an important driver of business for local companies.
Scores of small businesses — including Mark’s Garden, limo and car services, hotels, stylists, restaurants, caterers, security companies, designers and jewelers — make money from Oscars week, the related activities and events and the show itself, which airs Sunday.
Beyond small businesses, broadcast network ABC also stands to benefit from airing the show — in 2020, a 30-second ad during the telecast cost $2.15 million, on average, according to marketing data firm Kantar. Total ad revenue for that year was about $150 million.
“It is really a huge operation,” said David Offenberg, an associate professor of entertainment finance at Loyola Marymount University. “It’s not just the people onstage, but so many people behind the scenes.”
A floral installation at the 2024 Oscars. Mark’s Garden owner Michael Uncapher said his business’ association with the awards show “has shaped our reputation in a way no marketing campaign ever could.”
(Michael Uncapher)
Last year’s show on ABC an average of 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from 2023, according to Nielsen data. Viewer interest in the Oscars that year was piqued by the best picture face-off between theatrical blockbuster nominees “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” along with a highly anticipated performance of the song “I’m Just Ken” by star Ryan Gosling.
The 2024 telecast marked the third consecutive time the Oscars saw viewership growth after an all-time audience low of 10.5 million in 2021. But it still paled in comparison with the 30 million people who once tuned in to watch the awards show. Oscar pundits have worried about ratings for this year’s telecast because so many of the best picture front-runners are relatively obscure.
But as television viewing habits have changed, so should the metric for success for the Oscars, academy Chief Executive Bill Kramer said.
This year, the show will be streamed live on Hulu for the first time, and it has garnered an increasingly international audience in 200 markets around the world. The academy also said its social media presence has increased.
Flowers from Mark’s Garden adorn the Academy Awards. Owner Michael Uncapher says the exposure his business gets on the biggest stage of the year is priceless.
(Michael Uncapher)
“Of course, night-of ratings on broadcast television have traditionally been how we’ve defined our success in the U.S., but we reach people in so many different ways,” Kramer said. “We really have to think about our reach in a variety of ways.”
On the ground in Hollywood, more than 1,000 production workers have been at work, creating sets for the show, working on lighting and installing the red carpet, he said.
Speaking on Zoom this week from a hotel room at Ovation Hollywood, Kramer said the show not only supports these direct workers and the businesses that economically benefit from the show’s presence in L.A. but also the entertainment industry as a whole.
That was an important consideration for the academy as it considered how to steer the glitzy awards show in the aftermath of the recent fires in Southern California.
Though there were calls to cancel or not broadcast the Oscars from people including “Hacks” star Jean Smart, Kramer said the academy decided to move forward after consultation with its board of governors, academy members and city leaders. (The academy did delay its nomination announcement and rescheduled other related events.)
“There’s a huge business impact to our industry,” said Kramer, who has led the academy since 2022. “This is an industry that’s had a complex several years with COVID and the strikes, so we thought it was really important to keep a positive energy surrounding the Oscars and our industry.”
Keeping the Oscars on track was especially important to Uncapher of Mark’s Garden, particularly because many of his January events were canceled due to the Palisades and Eaton fires. He’s also recovering from an arson attack on his business two years ago that left him operating out of a pop-up until later this year, he said.
“We have to continue on and keep the economy moving,” Uncapher said.
The Oscars represent a stable and predictable source of revenue for marketing firm Distinctive Assets, which makes swag bags for the nominees for the acting and directing awards.
The Miracle Mile-based company, which connects brands with celebrities, has put together its “Everyone Wins” bags for 23 years.
This year, the gift bags are filled with products and offers from 61 brands and include a four-night stay at resorts in the Maldives, cosmetics and hair care products from L’Oreal and 10 one-year subscriptions to a disaster recovery support firm that can be gifted to anyone.
The bags are not affiliated with the Oscars or the academy and are delivered to nominees well before the telecast airs. Company founder Lash Fary declined to disclose revenue information but said this promotion is on target and perhaps slightly above average for what he’d want to make from any promotion he does.
The “Everyone Wins” gift bag is one of two big events Distinctive Assets works in the first quarter. The other is the Grammys.
“This is the Super Bowl of awards shows, at least from a film perspective,” Fary said. “That’s what the brands are looking to be part of.”
In the past, actor Viola Davis has shown up at the resort gifted to her, and director Ron Howard hosted his son’s wedding at a resort advertised in the bag. Amy Adams was once photographed in a T-shirt from the “Everyone Wins” package while walking to the gym.
It’s these kind of celebrity associations that brands pay for, Fary said, that “instant cachet that Oscar week has.”
The luxury shopping center in Pacific Palisades will reopen next month after more than $100 million in renovations forced by the January 2025 wildfire that devastated the Los Angeles neighborhood.
Palisades Village will reopen Aug. 15, owner Rick Caruso announced Wednesday. The outdoor center survived the blaze that destroyed homes and other businesses but needed refurbishment to eliminate contaminants that the fire could have spread.
Crews are putting finishing touches on mall buildings after tearing them down to the studs, treating the wood and rebuilding the walls, Caruso said.
“Everybody’s working, and stores are moving their products in,” he said. “It’s a really cool feeling that people have really locked arms and are working together.”
An electrician installs lighting for a restaurant at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Pacific Palisades resident Allison Polhill, who is rebuilding the home of 30 years that her family lost in the blaze, said she is “thrilled” at the prospect of returning to the mall she used to frequent. Its comeback is a boost for the community, she said.
“Every single step that we make to reopen our commercial corridors is going to bring more people back into the Palisades,” said Polhill, who expects to move back into her home at the end of August.
A total of 6,822 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, including more than 5,500 residences and 100 commercial businesses, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Caruso previously attributed the mall’s survival to the hard work of private firefighters and the fire-resistant materials used in the mall’s construction.
The $200-million shopping and dining center opened in 2018 with a movie theater and a roster of upmarket tenants, including Erewhon, which may be the only grocer in the heart of the fire-ravaged neighborhood when it opens.
Caruso’s company was able to fill the mall with tenants despite the long shutdown.
Palisades Village is 99% leased, with the majority of tenants returning, said Jackie Levy, chief financial and revenue officer. Nearly one-third of the shops and restaurants are new to the property.
A firefighter carries a hose back to his rig while walking through a destroyed home from the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Pacific Palisades-based fashion designer Elyse Walker said she would reopen her eponymous store in Palisades Village after losing her 25-year flagship location on Antioch Street to the inferno.
Other neighborhood shops destroyed in the fire that are reopening at the mall include K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys, which caters to children up to age 12 and used to be across the street from Palisades Elementary Charter School.
“It’s been a journey and I’m excited because I wasn’t sure that there was going to be a place to come back to,” said toy store owner Amanda Rastegar. “Hopefully we can bring some of that magic back.”
Rastegar’s home in the Palisades survived but was damaged by the fire. The family returned about eight weeks ago. Her last memory of the fire was a burning supermarket.
“I just couldn’t wrap my brain around what was happening,” she said. “By the time I left, Gelson’s was on fire.”
Among the returning tenants is Angelini Ristorante & Bar. Well-known Los Angeles chef Gino Angelini said he will be in the kitchen next month for a return of the Italian restaurant.
“We won’t do a big celebrity open,” he said. “We want to have a very soft opening and see our customers come back.”
Construction takes place at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
An elaborate celebration would not feel “correct for me,” Angelini said, because the devastation has been “very sad” for so many.
Other new tenants include local chef Nancy Silverton, who has agreed to move in with a new Italian steakhouse called Spacca Tutto. Women’s activewear retailer LESET will open its first West Coast location.
Caruso said he is optimistic that customers will return to the center, even though many Pacific Palisades residents are still dispersed. One tracking system estimated that about 30% of the Village’s customer base was impacted by the fire, he said.
“That means 70% did not get impacted, so there’s a lot of customers still left out there,” Caruso said. Historically, the center drew customers from as far away as Beverly Hills and Calabasas, as well as Malibu, Brentwood and Santa Monica.
He also hopes many will be inspired to visit the revived mall.
“I believe in the goodness of people and I believe that people are going to want to support the Palisades,” he said. “They’re going to want to be there and support the businesses that have had the courage and the heart to reopen.”
Walmart is rapidly expanding its network of electric vehicle chargers designed for customers to use while they shop.
The network could help fill gaps in EV infrastructure in states with greater need for chargers. Walmart, which has more than 5,000 locations in the U.S. and hundreds in California, says more than 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores.
The chargers also offer an incentive for customers to choose Walmart — Walmart Plus members will receive a 10% discount off an average price of $0.46 per kilowatt-hour of energy at the company’s chargers.
Walmart chargers are already available at more than 75 locations in 17 states, with Texas boasting the most charging stations, followed by Florida and Arizona.
Matthew Nelson, Walmart’s director of energy policy, said last week on LinkedIn that the network will soon reach 29 states, including California.
“We are delivering on the promise of affordable, reliable and convenient charging,” Nelson said in his post.
According to Walmart’s website, six charging stations are coming to California soon, though the company did not offer a specific timeline.
The chargers will be installed at stores in Antelope, Brea, Fresno, Stockton, Suisun City and Vallejo.
Most charging sites in California will include eight to 16 fast-charging stalls, said Walmart spokesperson Kelsey Bohl.
The company first announced plans in April 2023 to install its own EV chargers at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, with a goal of installing thousands of chargers by 2030. Partnering with ABB E-Mobility and Alpitronic, it added 25 new charging sites this past May and six more in June.
“Walmart is building a leading retail-integrated EV fast-charging network, focused on delivering an affordable, reliable and convenient charging experience where customers already shop,” Bohl said in an emailed statement. “Customers can charge while they shop, access stations through the Walmart app they already use, and benefit from affordable pricing.”
The charging stations already available include 612 individual charging stalls using 400-kilowatt chargers. Each stall has a dual charging cord with both Combined Charging System and North American Charging Standard connectors. The standard connectors, designed by Tesla, are smaller and lighter than the combined systems.
The primary way to pay for the chargers is through the Walmart app, but the company is also experimenting with built-in credit card readers to allow those without the app to use the stations.
Customers can check charger availability on the Walmart app. The company said the chargers will be available 24 hours a day.
Robotaxis could be turning into robocops.
A self-driving Waymo reported two teens to San Mateo, Calif., police on Monday after they were found drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns in the back of the vehicle.
According to a social media post from the San Mateo Police Department, officers detained two 15-year-olds after the Waymo they were riding in contacted the department and stopped in a parking lot until law enforcement arrived.
“Parents do you know where your teens are?” the San Mateo Police Department wrote on Facebook following the incident. “Waymo does!”
Officers removed both teens from the vehicle and determined they were using toy guns to shoot Orbeez out the windows. Orbeez are small, water-absorbing beads sold at toy stores.
“Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” the Police Department said. “The simple handling of them can cause fear in [passersby].” “
A video posted on Facebook shows at least five officers and a police dog responding to the scene and approaching the Waymo with their weapons raised.
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Waymo vehicles have internal cameras and microphones that may be used in an emergency or to “promote safety and security,” according to Waymo’s online support page.
The cameras are also used to ensure the vehicles are clean and to help find lost items, according to the support page.
The company said it does not use facial recognition or other biometric identification technologies to identify individuals.
“In more urgent circumstances, support may access live video during a trip,” the Waymo page said.
The San Mateo Police Department’s Facebook post has garnered nearly 60 comments, with one user accusing Waymo of “snitching.”
“At least they got a designated driver?!” one user commented.
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