April 8, 2023
5 Things to Know: Week Ending April 8
A U.S. lighting brand shuts down. Nasdaq applies more pressure to a lighting company.
Here's a roundup of some of the week's happenings curated to help lighting people stay informed.
1. LIGEO US closes
The LIGEO US brand that brought the German lighting products to market is shutting down. An announcement from LIGEO US, a brand that was launched right before the pandemic, reports that the European home office didn’t form the joint venture corporation that had been agreed upon – placing the liability and burden on the US-based LLC. The announcement added “This includes incurring debt from conducting that business with LIGEO DE/BHS-Pro GMBH leaving us hung out to dry.”
U.S. Lighting agents were informed that all sales representative agreements have been terminated, effective, April 5, 2023.
2. Lighting Agent Organizes Death Race
Not all lighting agent events are built the same. RC Lurie, a leading lighting agent in Arizona, will be hosting an auto racing event April 22 in Tucson at the Musselman Honda Circuit. The event is specifically for architects, engineers, developers, general contractors and electrical contractors who work on multifamily building projects.
The race format is straight-forward, the racer with the fastest lap time in a Mazda Miata wins. Each racer will be given a number of laps on the track to work towards the title of RCL Death Race ‘23 Champion.
3. Hong Kong International Lighting Fair
The Hong Kong International Lighting Fair is just days away, April 12-15, 2023. Over 600 exhibitors will be featured at the live exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This year’s Spring Edition year, the fair adopts the EXHIBITION+ hybrid model, providing buyers with sourcing opportunities not only at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, but also through the HKTDC smart business matching platform Click2Match and the hktdc.com Sourcing platform. It also enables buyers to schedule and conduct online meetings with local and overseas exhibitors via Click2Match for an extended period from April 12 to 22.
4. Energy Focus to Appeal Potential Nasdaq Delisting
Energy Focus is facing potential delisting due to non-compliance with two requirements. The first, a minimum stockholders' equity requirement, was notified to the company in November 2022. Despite being granted an extension to regain compliance with this requirement by May 15, 2023, the company received a second notice in February 2023 stating that its common stock had fallen below the minimum bid price requirement for 30 consecutive business days.
This means that the company's stock is now subject to delisting from Nasdaq. It is important to note that Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires the stock price to be above $1 for a minimum period, and Energy Focus hasn’t met that requirement since July 2022. The company stated its intent to file an appeal and is diligently pursuing ways to regain compliance with both requirements.
5. Construction jobs retract in March
An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that nonresidential construction employment fell by 1,800 positions in March, with declines in 2 of the 3 subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade lost 6,100 positions, while the number of nonresidential building jobs decreased by 2,800. Heavy and civil engineering added 7,100 net new jobs.
The construction unemployment rate declined to 5.6% in March. Unemployment across all industries decreased from 3.6% in February to 3.5% last month.
“The March employment report may hint at growing economic weakness in the months to come,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While the nonresidential construction industry lost fewer than 2,000 jobs, the addition of jobs in publicly financed construction categories masks more substantial weakness in private segments. It is precisely those private segments that tend to be most affected by slowing economic growth, deteriorating confidence and concerns regarding the nation’s banking system."
