California Apparel Company Moves Headquarters to Texas as CEO Blasts State’s Business Costs

Digital Brand Group is relocating its headquarters from the Los Angeles area to Round Rock, Texas, where the apparel and e-commerce company will occupy 70,000 square feet as its CEO cites California’s costs, lawsuits and employee commutes.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Another California company is moving its headquarters to Texas, with Digital Brand Group CEO Hil Davis saying the costs and complications of operating in the Golden State have become increasingly difficult for the apparel and e-commerce business.

The company is relocating its headquarters from Vernon, California, about five miles south of Los Angeles, to Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin.

Digital Brand Group will lease approximately 70,000 square feet of warehouse and office space at its new Texas location as the company expands its sports apparel operations.

Davis offered an unequivocal assessment of the business environment behind the move.

“Doing business in the state of California sucks,” Davis told Fox News.

The company’s decision was not driven simply by the cost of leasing physical space. Davis said the Round Rock facility will cost approximately the same as the company’s current operation in Vernon.

Instead, he pointed to a collection of other expenses and logistical problems associated with remaining in California.

Among them are the state’s high cost of living, lengthy commutes faced by employees and the increasing expense of operating a business, including money spent defending the company against lawsuits.

Those costs ultimately made Texas a more attractive location even though the company is not expecting a major reduction in its basic warehouse and office lease expenses.

The relocation places Digital Brand Group among businesses and residents leaving California for other states as affordability and operating costs remain major concerns.

Recent IRS migration data shows that Los Angeles County experienced the largest net loss of taxpayers to other states in the country.

A net 17,496 tax filers moved out of Los Angeles County for other states, according to the latest IRS figures.

Those departing taxpayers represented nearly $1.9 billion in income.

Digital Brand Group’s move adds a corporate example to that broader migration pattern, with the company shifting its headquarters away from the Los Angeles area while maintaining a similarly priced physical footprint in Texas.

For Davis, the calculation centered less on the rent itself than on the overall environment surrounding the company.

With the business expanding its sports apparel operations, Digital Brand Group will now base that growth from a 70,000-square-foot Round Rock facility rather than its existing Southern California location.