friday, july 4, 2008 business dept.: 313-222-8765

In January, David Farber,president of Detroit PopcornCo., thought he would have toshut down the now 85-year-oldbusiness and re-retire at 47.

During his first shot at re-tirement, he sold his 10 VitaminOutlet stores, sat in his base-ment and drove his wife nuts be-fore a friend told him DetroitPopcorn was up for sale.

Farber purchased the dyingbusiness three years ago in anattempt to revitalize it.

But marketing the company— which sells concession sup-plies such as popcorn and cot-ton candy as well as provideswholesale products to localcompanies — proved difficult inits location. Its Detroit facilityon Greenfield Road near I-96was oversized and didn’t gener-ate much foot traffic. Expensivecity taxes also strained the com-pany.

“We were going to close onJan. 1, but when this buildingpopped up, there was real hope,real life. We were blessed,” Far-ber said. “It was the perfectbuilding.”

Instead of closing, Farberspent more than $2 million tomove to Telegraph Road in Red-ford Township. The 32,000-

square-foot facility, while small-er than the previous location, of-fers a larger showroom. TheTelegraph location also made iteasier for Detroit Popcorn tomarket its products because ofits better visibility and proxim-ity to freeways.

Due to its relocation, Farbersaid Detroit Popcorn is expect-ed to save $30,000 to $35,000annually due to a lower tax bill.Its online business is booming,generating $200,000 annually.

“The first half of the year hasbeen phenomenal. We haveabout $500,000 growth for theyear, but it’s too soon to tell,”Farber said. “This is the firstyear we’re making money sincewe bought it, which feels good.”

He projects sales will reach

FOCUSING ON RETAIL NICHE

Photos by MANDI WRIGHT/Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Popcorn Co. was on the verge of closing in January when president David Farber learned of a buildingon Telegraph Road in Redford Township. He invested $2 million to move and saw significant tax savings.

SALES POPPINGAT NEW STORE

Detroit Popcorn’smove brings foottraffic, more profit

David Farber, 48, president of the Detroit Popcorn Co., projects sales willreach $3 million this year — more than double those of three years ago.

By CHRISTY DUAN

FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER

C M Y K

10AFriday, July 4, 2008 Business dept.: 313-222-8765, business@freepress.com www.freep.com Detroit Free Press

InsideStocks 12Mutuals 13

“We are facing an epochalchange in our societies. Thesense of urgency hasdramatically increased over

the past twoyears.” Daimler AG CEO DIETER

ZETSCHE, speaking at a confer-ence on how the auto industry

can help slow global warming.

HE SAID

CARLOS OSORIO/Associated Press

Leading indicatorsDOW NASDAQ

Friday �+73.03 �-6.08Close 11,288.54 2245.38The week �-57.97 �-69.73

IN THE SUNDAY FREE PRESSDetroit automakers race to createfuel-efficient cars that will sell well

AUTOS

Guardian to shut plant in WarrenGuardian Automotive Inc., a supplier of auto-

motive glass and exterior trim parts, will shut aplant in Warren at the end of August because ofdeclining U.S. sales of cars and trucks.

The closing will result in layoffs for 78 em-ployees, Amy Hennes, a spokeswoman for theAuburn Hills-based supplier, said Thursday. Thecompany is part of Guardian Industries Corp.,owned by Bill Davidson, who also owns the De-troit Pistons basketball team.

“There has been a decline in auto sales, result-ing in production cuts,” Hennes said. The plantmakes stamped-metal parts and trim compo-nents.

BMW shows off new version of flagshipBMW AG unveiled a new version of its top-

end 7-Series sedan Thursday, hoping demandfrom Chinese and American drivers will make upfor higher steel and oil costs.

BMW’s flagship model “will contribute a greatdeal” to achieving the automaker’s 2012 profittargets, CEO Norbert Reithofer said at an eventin Munich to introduce the car. The fifth genera-tion of the 7-Series will go on sale this fall, with arange of new technology, including four-wheelsteering, unlimited in-car Internet access, and anight-vision feature that warns drivers of peoplenear the roadway.

The 7-Series typically showcases BMW’slatest technology as it competes for sales withthe Mercedes-Benz S-Class from Daimler AGand Volkswagen AG’s Audi A8. The current7-Series included the introduction of BMW’siDrive auto entertainment system and a versionpowered by a hydrogen-combustion engine. Thenext 7-Series will include a hybrid version, Reith-ofer said.

Lenders OK Lear’s extension of credit lineLear Corp., a maker of automotive seats, said

a majority of lenders agreed to its proposal toextend an untapped $1.7-billion revolving creditline by almost two years.

The extension, from March 23, 2010, to Jan.31, 2012, takes effect Thursday, the Southfield-based company said in a U.S. Securities andExchange Commission filing.

AIR TRAVEL

Airlines rejecting cash for in-flight buyingDon’t bother hitting the ATM before boarding

your flight — your airline may no longer be ac-cepting cash.

Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will becomethe latest carrier to go cashless for in-flight pur-chases such as headphones, cocktails andsnacks.

Others that have gone cashless include Fron-tier Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Air-Tran and Midwest Airlines.

COURTS

Former CEO of Refco gets 16 yearsThe former chief executive of Refco Inc. was

sentenced Thursday to 16 years in prison for afinancial cover-up that brought down one of theworld’s largest commodities brokerages.

Phillip Bennett, 59, a British citizen living inGladstone, N.J., had previously pleaded guilty toconspiracy to commit securities fraud and othercharges.

Bennett said he didn’t mean to hurt anyone.His voice cracked when he apologized to hisfamily for their “unimaginable agony.”Free Press staff and news services

UWE LEIN/Associated Press

Norbert Reithofer, CEO of BMW, shows off the newBMW 7 series in Munich, Germany, on Thursday.

The days of the deal arecreeping back, at least onbig trucks.

After years of trying towean themselves off fatcash-back rebates and spe-cial financing discounts —which have proven to erodeprofits, brand image and re-sale values — many of thenation’s automakers havebeen jacking up the deals in-

to territories not seen sincethe summer “employeepricing” craze of 2005.

Last month, automakersoffered an average of $6,580off pickups and $5,850 offmidsize SUVs, according toAutodata Corp. of WoodcliffLake, N.J., a private firmthat estimates incentivespending. Automakers donot report that number pub-licly.

Despite those deals, in-dustrywide sales in the

United States still fell 18.3%in June and hit their lowestsales rate in 15 years, a con-sequence of a sour economyand $4-a-gallon gasoline.That included a drop of 7.9%for cars and 28.4% for lighttrucks, a category that in-cludes pickups, SUVs, vansand crossovers.

“It would have beenworse without it,” Dave Lu-cas, a vice president of Au-

Truck discounts ramped upDespite increased incentives, sales fall to lowest rate in 15 years

By SARAH A. WEBSTER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

See INCENTIVE, 11A

Shares of General MotorsCorp. rebounded by 1.4% to $10.12Thursday from a Wednesday lownot seen since 1954 as an analystwaved off the threat of bankrupt-cy but said the automaker mayneed to raise $10 billion to ride outdeteriorating U.S. auto sales.

JP Morgan analyst HimanshuPatel said in a note to investorsThursday morning that he be-lieves GM’s liquidity position is inthe middle among the Detroit au-tomakers. He ranked GM’s cashposition “tough but manageable.”A day earlier, Merrill Lynch ana-lyst John Murphy said the auto-maker may need to raise as muchas $15 billion to remain solventand wrote that “bankruptcy is notimpossible.”

Patel wrote that GM may get toa point where its cash is tight, buthe believes the automaker hasenough cash to fund the businessthrough 2009 and will be able toraise any money it might need byborrowing against its trademarksand profitable foreign operations,and pushing back its contributionto a UAW health fund.

He expects that GM will seek toraise more cash and announcemore restructuring moves by theend of September.

“While GM had $24 billion of

Wobblysharesof GMrecoverslightly Analyst calls cashlevel manageable

By KATIE MERX

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Truck deals on the riseWhile incentives for increasingly popular cars declined 2.1% last month,compared with the same month a year ago, evaporating desire fortrucks is leading to heavy discounting. Cash-back rebates, specialfinancing programs and other discounts for light trucks — a categorythat includes pickups, SUVs, crossovers and vans — grew 14.8%.

June 2008 June 2007 Change % ChangeGM $3,962 $2,785 $1,177 42.3%Ford $4,847 $4,351 $496 11.4%Chrysler $4,685 $4,858 ($173) -3.6%Toyota $2,332 $1,902 $430 22.6%Honda $2,082 $1,357 $725 53.4%Nissan $2,545 $3,322 ($ 777) -23.4%Industrywide $3,762 $3,276 $486 14.8%Source: Autodata Corp.

David FarberAge: 48 City of residence: West Bloom-field Personal: Married to Jill and hasthree children

Detroit Popcorn Co.Owner: David FarberFounded: 1923What it does: Sells concessionsupplies such as popcorn andcotton candy and provides whole-sale products to local companies.It also rents and services equip-ment. Number of workers: 28For more information: Call 313-387-1600 or 800-642-2676 orvisit www.detroitpopcorn.com.

“We have about $500,000 growth for the year… This isthe first year we’re making money since we bought it.”

DAVID FARBER, president of the Detroit Popcorn Co., which is now in Redford Township

See POPCORN, 11A

Chevy Beat may go onGeneral Motors Corp. may bring

the next-generation ChevroletBeat minicar to the United Statesin an effort to inject more fuel-efficient cars into its lineup, ViceChairman Bob Lutz said Thursday.

GM plans to manufacture thefirst-generation Beat minicar inSouth Korea for sale outside ofNorth America beginning inmid-2009. Automakers typicallytake three to five years to releasea next-generation vehicle.

GM showed the Beat along withtwo other minicar concepts —collectively referred to as thetriplets — at the New York AutoShow last year.

Lutz said the company may bringthe next-generation Beat to theUnited States, but “we think it’stoo late for this one.”

- KATIE MERX

Associated Press

See GM, 11A