It may only be July, but organizations are already looking at back-to-school shopping.
Earlier this month Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. released its annual Back-To-School Shopping Survey. The brokerage found that parents plan to spend 21.8% more on back-to-school shopping this year than last year and almost 90% will go to physical stores. JLL also found that parents have started shopping earlier this year than in years past.
“For the second consecutive year, parents are increasing their per-child spending from $390 to $475, despite concerns about inflation,” Keisha Virtue, senior analyst of retail research at JLL, said in a statement. “Our survey demonstrates that parents are prioritizing back-to-school essentials and will continue to play a crucial part in driving consumer spending and foot traffic.”
Meanwhile, a number of local firms have announced school supply drives to help local students. Glendale-based California Credit Union, for example, is gathering supplies in association with NBC4 and Telemundo 52’s Supporting Our Schools back-to-school donation drive.
Community members can drop off new school supplies at the credit union’s branches until July 27.
“We are excited to again participate in this important program and encourage our community to join us in helping local students start the school year right and supporting their path to learning and literacy,” Steve O’Connell, California Credit Union’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.
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Headspace, a mental health platform, appointed Tom Pickett as its chief executive. He will take helm of the company Aug. 12, replacing Russell Glass.
Pickett previously served as the chief revenue officer at DoorDash, chief executive of Crunchyroll (formerly Ellation) and held various roles at Google.
“Addressing complex societal challenges through a combination of technology and human touch has been core to my career, whether it be growing and empowering local economies or building new ways for people to share their voices at scale,” Pickett said. “I’m inspired by the impact that Headspace has had on reshaping people’s relationship to their mental health and am excited to support the company’s growth and scale as we execute our mission to provide everyone with lifelong mental health support.”
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The selection last week of J.D. Vance as running mate to Donald Trump this week had a tangential ripple effect on Los Angeles.
On the same afternoon of the announcement, Usha Vance, wife to the Republican Ohio senator, tendered her resignation as an associate with the Washington, D.C., office of downtown-based Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, one of L.A.’s most successful homegrown law firms. Usha Vance, who previously clerked for Chief U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and also for Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, handled civil litigation at the firm and represented clients like The Walt Disney Co. and the University of California Board of Regents.
