Another California company is packing up its headquarters for Texas — and its CEO isn’t being subtle about why.
Hil Davis, CEO of apparel and e-commerce company Digital Brands Group, says “Doing business in the state of California sucks.”
The company is moving its headquarters from Vernon, near Los Angeles, to Round Rock, Texas.
And consider the real-estate math: Digital Brands Group previously reported leasing about 44,700 square feet of office and warehouse space. In Texas, it’s getting roughly 70,000 square feet — about 25,000 more square feet, or nearly 60 percent more space — for roughly the same cost.
Digital Brands Group reported 33 full-time employees at the end of last year, and Davis has said the workforce could grow as the company expands in Texas.
Davis blames California’s high cost of living, long employee commutes, operating expenses and the cost of defending lawsuits.
“You start to add all those things up,” Davis told Fox News. “It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make sense. It’s too hard.”
Texas also gives the company a more central location for shipping its collegiate apparel nationwide, access to Austin’s workforce and, Davis says, faster permitting.
Davis doesn’t predict companies will suddenly stampede out of California.
Instead, he predicts something potentially more damaging over time:
“I just think it’ll be a constant leak.”
