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In business downtown competitor in eco-friendly arena purchases ecomom By Joe Schoenmann staff writer A Spokane, Wash., e-commerce site bought the inventory and name of ecomom.com, a Las Vegas-based online company that dissolved shortly after co-founder Jody Sherman committed suicide in January. Josh Neblett, co-founder and CEO of Greencupboards.com, said he acquired about $1 million of ecomom's inventory. None of ecomom's employees went with the deal since they had already been let go by the time Neblett bought the company. In announcing the purchase, Neblett also changed the corporate name of his company to etailz.com; ecomom and greencupboards remain but are under the etailz.com umbrella. "We looked to ecomom as a great competitor," Neblett said by phone. "I was as shocked and sad as anyone to watch it unravel." The two companies, which both cater to customers looking for eco-friendly products, started around the same time in 2008, he added. Greencupboards.com sells about 25,000 products described as environmentally friendly. Where the two companies differed appears to be in how they grew their business. Neblett said he started his company with a small amount of money, about $280,000, and slowly built the company without infusions of large amounts of cash from venture capitalists. With ecomom, Sherman raised some $12 million from investors and venture capital groups, including VegasTechFund, founded by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and others. "Sometimes when you have less, you tend to make better business decisions," Neblett said. "You're not able to spent a lot of money on all kinds of ideas." While he's based in Washington, Neblett hopes down the road to have a presence Las Vegas. "I really believe in what's happening there," he said of Las Vegas. Greencupboards has grown into a profitable $13 million company; Neblett expects that to double in the coming year. The company also employs about 60, a number Neblett said should increase by about a third this year. Etailz is relaunching the ecomom. com website this summer. A message on ecomom.com from Neblett says the sale was completed in March and "the team at etailz will be working hard to get ecomom back online." office vacancy rate soars to record high in las vegas Las Vegas' empty office space hit an all-time high last quarter as rental rates continued to slide. The valley's office market had a record 26.2 percent vacancy rate in the three months ending March 31, up from 25.1 percent a year earlier, according to a new report from Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas research firm. The average asking rent for office buildings was $1.87 per square foot last quarter, down from $1.94 a year ago. Rental rates have dropped for 15 consecutive months and are down 21.4 percent from their peak, in the second quarter of 2008. Applied Analysis attributed this past year's rising vacancy rate largely to two move-outs. The Nevada Cancer Institute, which shut its clinical practice in 20130513_VI13_F.indd 13 WHAT'S YOUR STRATEGY? The Leavitt Group will provide practical strategies your business can implement to deal with upcoming Health Care Reform changes. Learn how to reduce costs and risks, minimizing the impact of the business requirements coming in 2014 and beyond. WED. MAY 22, 2013 7:30AM - 9AM CHECK-IN STARTS AT 7:00 AM real estate By Eli Segall staff writer HEALTHCARE REFORM 2014: late January, vacated its 143,000-squarefoot building near Town Center Drive and the 215 Beltway. Also, the University of Phoenix left its 40,300-square-foot building near Buffalo Drive and Summerlin Parkway as part of a consolidation. Despite continued weakness in Las Vegas' office market, other aspects of the valley's commercial real estate industry are showing signs of improvement. The vacancy rate for anchored retail centers dipped to 9.8 percent last quarter from 10.4 percent a year earlier. Average asking rents inched up to $1.49 per square foot from $1.45, Applied Analysis reported. Industrial space had a first-quarter vacancy rate of 17.2 percent, down from 17.9 percent a year ago. Asking rents were flat at $0.51 per square foot. SOUTH POINT HOTEL & CASINO ADMISSION IS FREE RSVP AT: www.vegasinc.com/healthcarereform JUST BRING A BUSINESS CARD TO CHECK-IN For more information regarding Health Care Reform contact The Leavitt Group www.leavittins.com | 702-382-4010 5/9/13 2:27:46 PM