Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

City of Henderson taking departure of Zappos.com in stride

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Map of Zappos.com

Zappos.com

2280 Corporate Circle #100, Henderson

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen raised his hand to interrupt a speaker on a panel at the 2010 Mayors Prayer Breakfast; he just had to correct her.

She said online retailer Zappos.com was headquartered in Las Vegas. It’s not, Hafen said, grinning and laughing with pride. It’s in Henderson.

About two weeks after the Nov. 18 breakfast, Zappos announced it would be moving its offices from the heart of Green Valley to the Las Vegas City Hall building after city offices are moved to a new location.

Henderson city officials are taking the move in stride, saying it should not prove a significant economic blow for the city because the company is remaining in the valley.

“We want business in our city, but they needed to expand. We’re glad they found it (a new location) locally and not outside the state,” Henderson spokesman Bud Cranor said.

“The people who were here who stood to lose their jobs will be able to stay and continue to live here, pay taxes here, dine here,” Cranor said.

Henderson spokeswoman Kathy Blaha said she thought the move would have minimal financial impact on the city.

Zappos leased the space, she said, so the city will still collect property taxes on the building from American Nevada Company. The city will lose the company’s business license, she said, which brought in $1,000 a year.

“I’m not sure if there’s any kind of economic impact on us because Zappos is remaining in Southern Nevada,” Blaha said.

Taxes on sales will still come through the state, so Henderson will continue to get its portion of consolidated tax, she said.

The company, known for its zany work environment, located in Henderson in 2004. It has been listed as one of the best companies to work for by Fortune magazine.

Hafen was out of town Tuesday, but the city released a statement from the mayor.

“We’ve known for some time that Zappos has been looking at locations outside of Nevada to expand their operations,” Hafen said in the statement. “I’ve spoken at length with CEO Tony Hsieh and am excited that they’ve decided to remain here in Southern Nevada.”

The Henderson Chamber of Commerce had no comment on the move.

Because Zappos will be located on the Green Valley campus until mid -to late 2012, American Nevada Company officials said there haven’t been any preliminary discussions about future plans for the space Zappos occupies on Corporate Circle.

American Nevada Company is owned by The Greenspun Corporation, which owns the Las Vegas Sun.

“We have had a wonderful relationship with Tony Hsieh and Zappos.com,” said Bruce Deifik, president and CEO of American Nevada Company. “We certainly have loved having them on our campus and have enjoyed watching their company’s phenomenal growth and expansions over the years. We absolutely wish them the best and hope that our relationship with Tony and his team can continue in other ways in the future.”

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