SPOTLIGHT
Picture Perfect
Even with a shortage of new and used vehicles, dealers still find it helpful in selling autos to get a magazine-quality photo or commercial video of the actual vehicle out on social media rather than stock images. So says Matt Laux, 26, who founded CarLife, a Delray Beach software company that connects dealers with photographers and videographers.
CarLife’s annual revenue is around $300,000. Contrary to what you might expect, the glamour photos aren’t only for glamour nameplates. “We work with brands from Ferrari and Aston Martin to Subaru and Toyota. Our analytics consistently prove that we are selling cars through Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for dealerships — all with our premium photos and virtual vehicle videos,” Laux says.
Software lets dealers request a photographer to come to the dealership or other location and notifies them when the assignment is complete.
RETAIL
- City Furniture opened a store at the Oakwood Shopping Center in Hollywood, its 10th in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami area.
- The Cheesecake Factory company closed its Grand Lux Cafe restaurant at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, laying off 105.
- Grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market signed a 15-year lease for 25,837 square feet at Terranova’s Shadowwood Square in Boca Raton, Sprouts’ first Boca store.
- Rising Tide Car Wash, a social enterprise with a primary mission of employing adults with autism, started a third location, employing 25 in Coral Springs.
SERVICES
- Security and facilities company Allied Universal in West Palm Beach plans to hire 500.
- Deerfield Beach-based education and child-care franchisor the Learning Experience appointed Ron Linares CFO.
MANUFACTURING
- Media company Gannett laid off 74 in Port St. Lucie and 50 in Panama City as it closed newspaper production plants at each location. Printing of the Indian River Press Journal, St. Lucie News Tribune and Stuart News moved to Deerfield Beach in Broward County. Production in Panama City was moved to Gainesville and Jackson, Miss.
- Manufacturer Accel International Holdings broke ground in Port St. Lucie for a 150,000-sq.-ft. factory that will employ 125 making high-performance wire and cable products used in the aerospace, medical and telecom industries.
REAL ESTATE
- GL Homes acquired 260 acres off Glades Road west of Boca Raton where it plans 679 homes.
ENVIRONMENT
- Sightings of Burmese pythons in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach County confirmed what earlier water testing there for python DNA showed: The invasive species is becoming established farther north in the Everglades.
TECHNOLOGY
- Fort Lauderdale-based Citrix Systems reassigned or laid off 160 at its Broward headquarters.
MARINE
- The renovated Palm Beach Marina in Palm Beach opened, offering boaters newer facilities along with high-speed wifi, more shore power, upgraded security systems and complimentary access to the town’s oceanfront par-3 golf course, tennis courts and health and wellness facilities. Mike Horn, dock master, says the marina had deposits for all 125-foot and under slips for 2022.
DISTRIBUTION
- Meal delivery company Ideal Nutrition will add 170 jobs at a distribution center in West Palm Beach.