Executive Summary
The women-owned businesses on this week’s list are 100 of more than 350,000 local companies that make Los Angeles the nation’s second-biggest market for women-owned firms. Second only to New York, L.A.’s population of women-owned companies generates more than $105 billion in annual sales and employs 681,500 people, according to the Census Bureau.
To qualify as a women-owned company, women must own at least a 50 percent equity stake. Most businesses on the list far exceed that minimum amount. Fifty-six of the 100 companies are 100 percent women-owned, and 69 are at least two-thirds women-owned. There are a few notable changes from last year’s list. Six companies have been sold and are no longer women-owned. Those include two of last year’s top five: James R. Gary & Co. and Hoffman Travel.
The business services industry has the biggest presence on this year’s list, with 36 companies. Two types of business services, temp agencies and search firms, have 13 companies on the list. Another well-represented industry is construction and engineering, with 16 companies. According to the Census Bureau, agribusiness, construction and manufacturing are the fastest-growing industries for women-owned businesses, both in L.A. County and nationwide.
The Pacesetter
Never heard of Roll International Corp.? If you’ve ever eaten a Sunkist orange, wandered into the Franklin Mint on Rodeo Drive or sent flowers to someone out of town, you’ve likely patronized the Los Angeles-based holding company’s operations. Roll International’s three operating companies, the Franklin Mint, Teleflora and Paramount Agribusiness, generated combined revenues of $1.5 billion last year, making Roll one of the largest privately owned businesses in the country and by far the largest women-owned business in Los Angeles County. Lynda Resnick runs the company with her husband Stewart.
The Franklin Mint is Lynda Resnick’s primary concentration. The company’s collection of sculptures, plates, dolls, replicas, jewelry and other items are sold at five retail locations and by mail order. Increasingly, the Resnicks are buying icons of 20th century culture, exhibiting them at their retail stores, then duplicating them for sale. For example, the Franklin Mint paid $211,000 in 1996 for a faux pearl necklace owned by Jackie Onassis, and sells reproductions of the necklace for $195 each. This past summer the company paid $151,000 for a beaded strapless gown that had been worn by Princess Diana.
Teleflora provides more than 25,000 local florists with specialty gifts and a network for sending and receiving orders. In 1979, Lynda Resnick started a trend by creating keepsake gift arrangements that include flowers and gifts featuring popular characters or brand names like Mickey Mouse and Hershey chocolates. Teleflora recently merged with its main competitor, Redbook, to become the world’s largest floral wire service.
With 75 square miles of orchards, Paramount Agribusiness is the largest U.S. producer of almonds, pistachios and oranges for fresh consumption. The company sells oranges, pistachios, fruit rolls and a variety of other products under the Sunkist name.
