SEPTEMBER 29 , 2017 | VOL. 6 ISSUE 39
REVVED UP The father-and-son team behind the mighty Spinx empire
ALSO INSIDE // • PEDAL CHIC IS ON THE MOVE • TIME FOR UTILITY REFORM • THE OOBE STORY Stewart and Steve Spinks Photo by Will Crooks
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TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 39 Featured this issue: Pedal Chic founder to debut new bike line................................................................8 The latest plans for the Agfa site development.................................................... 20 Branding lessons from the co-founders of OOBE................................................ 24
A new active senior living community, Augusta Square, has been proposed for the corner of Augusta Street and Woodfin Avenue that will include 141 residential units, a parking garage, retail, a restaurant, and a bar, among other amenities. The property must first be approved as a Flexible Review District before the project can move forward. At an informal review during the September Design Review Board Urban Panel meeting, the six-story design was criticized heavily for not fitting in with the residential area. Rendering from LMG Architects and SHLTR Architects
WORTH REPEATING “We just thought it was going to be a little sandwich restaurant.” Page 4
“Why was I able to thrive in the marketplace? Because I was willing to adapt to what the customer was telling me.” Page 14
“Just as important as being the favorite of the people who write you checks is being the favorite of those who you write checks to.” Page 24
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VERBATIM
On the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy filing “Kids, who are the majority of toy consumers, aren’t paying any attention to this. … My expectation is that the holiday season will be business as usual for consumers.” Juli Lennett, an analyst at the NPD Group, on the effect – or lack thereof – the former retail giant’s decline will have on holiday shopping
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䌀 䰀 䔀 䴀 匀 伀 一 䴀 䈀 䄀 倀 刀 伀 䜀 刀 䄀 䴀
Sisters-in-law Katelyn and Tessa Pinner met with Moroccan artisans in the spring to begin sourcing goods for Broaden. Photo by Chris Isham
RETAIL
Globe Traders Broaden Goods brings traditional Moroccan wares to Greenville ARIEL TURNER | STAFF
aturner@communityjournals.com A 2015 trip to Morocco sparked an interest in Tessa Pinner that has evolved into a joint business venture with three other family members. That vacation opened her up to a completely different aesthetic than she was normally accustomed to, and she immediately wanted to share it with her hometown of Greenville. But the timing wasn’t right for her to do what she wanted. Flash forward a few years, and Tessa; her husband, Brian; his brother, Nathan; and his wife, Katelyn, will launch Broaden Goods on Oct. 6 to import artisan goods directly from overseas artists and makers. The first release of the carefully curated collection will feature goods from Morocco. This past spring Tessa and Katelyn visited the Moroccan city of Fez and met with local traditional artisans. There, they carefully selected a collection of goods to bring back to the States. “International experience helped her form her aesthetic,” Nathan says about his wife. “Travel helped us realize there’s so much more to design and art than what we knew.”
Now, with with their combined business and artistic experience, the Pinners are eager to share the fruits of their travels and painstaking curating. “I don’t think any of us could do this on our own,” Tessa says. Broaden Goods has settled on four categories of items to offer – textiles, leather, ceramics, and metals. They will sell hand-knotted rugs from the mountainous regions, bags made from cow hides tanned in a 1,000-year-old tannery, handthrown and painted bowls, and ornate brass lamps and hammered bowls. The collection will be open to the public for the first time at a pop-up shop Oct. 6-14 in Methodical Coffee’s roasting facility, where the stories of where and how these items came to be will be printed and displayed. “From the beginning, we wanted to give something to somebody that has more of a story,” Nathan says.
BROADEN GOODS POP-UP Oct. 6–14 3 McBeth St., Greenville Oct. 6, 6–9 p.m.; Oct. 7 and 14, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Oct. 8–13, 2–7 p.m.
9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
䌀伀䴀䔀 吀伀 䄀一 䤀一䘀伀 匀䔀匀匀䤀伀一 吀伀 䰀䔀䄀刀一 䄀䈀伀唀吀 䌀䰀䔀䴀匀伀一ᤠ匀 䘀唀䰀䰀ⴀ吀䤀䴀䔀 䄀一䐀 倀䄀刀吀ⴀ吀䤀䴀䔀 倀刀伀䜀刀䄀䴀 伀倀吀䤀伀一匀℀ 圀䠀䔀刀䔀㨀
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RESTAURANT
Moving on up The Farmer’s Table expanding to larger space in downtown Spartanburg Joel loves to tell people that, for the past two years, we have been the top restaurant in Spartanburg, according to Yelp.com. Everyone has A popular farm-to-table eatery in been good to us and supported us. The potential downtown Spartanburg is heading for a larger in this new space is almost limitless.” pasture. The Sansburys said they plan to do some Joel and Lenora Sansbury, owners of The renovations on the space, which has sat vacant Farmer’s Table, will relocate their restaurant to for at least three years. a 5,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Construction crews were busy last week Zarza Eclectic Cuisine in the Gilbert & Son Co. working on Coldwell Banker Caine’s new SparBuilding at 149 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. tanburg headquarters next door, as well as the The Sansburys, who opened their popular new $20 million AC Hotel across the street that dining concept almost six years ago, said they will open later this year. made the decision to move because they have When those construction projects reach outgrown their original 2,500-square-foot locompletion, the Sansburys said they will have cation in the Farmer’s Marketplace shopping plenty of parking in at least two adjacent lots center. and the new spaces along Daniel Morgan “We have drastically outgrown the space that Avenue. we’re in now,” said Lenora Sansbury, a native of The couple said their menu will remain pretty Cross Anchor who graduated from Johnson & much unchanged. Dishes will still be crafted Wales University’s culinary program in 2003. from fresh ingredients sourced from about 20 “It has reached a point where we have had to local farms and food businesses, including Great turn away business. The wait times on weekends Harvest Bread Co., Happy Cow Creamery, and Little River Roasting Co. They plan to be open for dinner a few nights per week. A dinner menu will feature delicious seasonal items, the Sansburys said. The restaurant will serve beer and wine, even on Sundays. Lenora Sansbury said the couple plans to make some modifications to the new space, including expanding the kitchen and creating a private dining room. The whole restaurant will be available for rent on weekends for events, such as wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, and office parties. They may have some live music, but those details are still in the works because the couple said they want to be mindful of the residents who live in the apartments above them. Exposed brick, weathered wood accents, tile floors, and metallic fixtures will give the restaurant an inJoel and Lenora Sansbury and their two children, Solomon and Leanna, stand inside the future space for The Farmer’s Table. dustrial look, the couple said. TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com
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are too long. … The concept will remain the same, but this will enable us to grow.” The Sansburys said they signed their lease last week and plan to open their new location in early January. They plan to double their staff from 21 employees to 42. Hiring will begin later this year. Currently, their restaurant can accommodate 99 diners. After the move, they will be able to seat 250 people. “This all kind of fell into our lap,” said Joel Sansbury of Spartanburg. “We are very excited about all of the growth happening in downtown, particularly in the area surrounding our new location. We’re looking forward to being a part of it.” The couple met while they were both employees at Converse Deli in Spartanburg. After they were married, they decided to branch out and do something on their own. “We just thought it was going to be a little sandwich restaurant,” Lenora said. “We just blew up so much. It was faster than we anticipated.
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The couple said their menu will remain pretty much unchanged. Dishes will still be crafted from fresh ingredients sourced from about 20 local farms and suppliers, including Great Harvest Bread Co., Happy Cow Creamery, and Little River Roasting Co.
The space has accommodated two restaurants dating back to Brasserie Ecosse, later renamed Braveheart’s, which shuttered in 2010. After The Farmer’s Table moves in, the building will be fully occupied for the first time in many years. “I’m just going to be honest. I was apprehensive about having another restaurant in that space,” said Greg Atkins, the building’s owner. “I couldn’t feel any more comfortable than I do with them in there. The way they run their business and the following that they have — it’s amazing. I’ve been trying to fill that space. When they came along, it truly piqued my interest.”
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Tim Satterfield, vice president and broker-in-charge of Coldwell Banker Commercial Caine, said he is pleased The Farmer’s Table will move next door to his company’s new office. “The restaurant business is tough,” Satterfield said. “All of the activity we are seeing is a sign of a healthy downtown. We are very pleased to have The Farmer’s Table as our neighbor.” Andrew Babb and Lianna Saad with NAI Earle Furman represented Atkins and the Sansburys in the transaction, respectively.
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Coffee and Cream 2.0 Coffee shop/creamery Spill the Beans will open in downtown Spartanburg TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com
Abram and Heather Curtis stand in front of the flagship location of their Spill the Beans coffeehouse-creamery concept in downtown Greenville.
Downtown Spartanburg will soon have more than one coffee shop for the first time in about four years. Abram and Heather Curtis said Wednesday, Sept. 20, they will open a Spartanburg location of their popular Main Street Greenville coffeehouse-creamery Spill the Beans. The couple said they have signed a lease on 2,500 square feet of space on the ground floor of the historic Aug W. Smith Building at 174 E. Main St. near Denny’s Plaza. The store is expected to open by spring 2018. “This kind of just fell in our lap,” said Abram Curtis, a native of Michigan whose parents, Lynda and the late Roger Curtis, founded Spill the Beans in 2002. “We had been looking around at communities around us from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., and even up to Asheville, N.C. We just felt like Spartanburg was a great fit.” Spill the Beans is the first business to announce its intention to move into the Aug W. Smith Building, but it likely won’t be the last. Greenville-based developer Blue Wall Real Estate is pouring about $10.5 million into a renovation of the building to transform it into a mixed-use facility with 45 apartments upstairs and retail-restaurant space on the first floor. Bogue Wallin, principal of Blue Wall, could not be reached for comment last week. The project is one of three multimillion-dol6
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lar developments under construction in downtown. The others are the $20 million AC Hotel and the $29 million renovation of the historic Montgomery Building, which aims to bring about 70 apartments and office and retail space to downtown. “We looked at the Montgomery Building and were blown away,” said Heather Curtis, a native
of Charlottesville, Va., who moved to Greenville in 2005. “At the last minute, our Realtor [Shannon Caldwell with NAI Earle Furman in Greenville] told us she wanted us to see one more space. “ Abram Curtis said the couple felt like both properties would be a good destination for their business. There was just something about the Aug. W. Smith Building. The Spartanburg location of Spill the Beans, which will be located on the ground floor of the Aug W. Smith building, is expected to open in spring 2018. Rendering from McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture
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“We knew we wanted to be downtown on Main Street. We didn’t want to go into a strip mall. Aug W. Smith reminded me of our location [in downtown Greenville]. It had the same feel.”
“We knew we wanted to be downtown on Main Street,” he said. “We didn’t want to go into a strip mall. Aug W. Smith reminded me of our location [in downtown Greenville]. It had the same feel.” He added, “We believe there’s a lot of potential in the space that we chose.” Curtis purchased the business from his parents in 2006. Shortly thereafter, he relocated the shop from its original location on South Main Street to its current spot. When he was growing up, his parents served
as missionaries in various places across the world, including Japan and Africa. They settled in Greenville, and Abram, who was in college in Wisconsin, followed them to South Carolina. He finished his final two years at Bob Jones University. A few years ago, Curtis opened up Spill the Beans as the venue for Origins, a new church. He met Heather at the church. The couple married in 2013. “We really try to cultivate a family dynamic,” Abram said. “We structure things a little dif-
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ferently and work with our staff to give them hours that meet their needs.” The couple said the Spartanburg store would be a little more than half the size of their flagship location. The new store will be similar to its Greenville counterpart, but unique in its own way, they said. It will be relaxed, with comfy furniture positioned to allow their customers to enjoy views of activity along Spartanburg’s East Main Street. Abram and Heather Curtis said the menu will be very similar to their original location. The menu includes a wide selection of regular and specialty coffee drinks, and a range of gourmet, custom-blended ice cream and yogurt served in a bowl, homemade waffle cone, or cake cone. Customers can also choose from an assortment of teas, hot chocolates, Italian sodas, smoothies, milkshakes, ice cream floats, and ice cream cakes. Caldwell represented the Curtises in the transaction, while Andrew Babb with NAI Earle Furman’s Spartanburg office represented Blue Wall. “This is a huge step for that end of downtown,” Babb said.
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Robin Bylenga, founder of Pedal Chic, filled a niche in the cycling retail market when she opened a shop specifically geared toward women. 8
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Ride On
Robin Bylenga’s women-centric bike shop, Pedal Chic, is going places WORDS BY RUDOLPH BELL | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS ight years ago, Robin Bylenga was a single mother in the unemployment line amid the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. She might have decided it wasn’t a good time to spend her dwindling savings on fulfilling a longtime dream of opening a bicycle shop geared toward women. But that’s exactly what she did. She’s operated the shop, Pedal Chic, for seven years along Main Street in downtown Greenville. Pedal Chic is one of the first – if not the first – shops in North America devoted to female cyclists. Now Bylenga is poised to fulfill another longtime dream – launching her own line of bicycles. Sometime this fall, she’s scheduled to start selling six models of Pedal Chic bicycles out of a new location for her store, 250 RiverPlace, Suite B. The new shop is along the riverwalk in downtown Greenville, beside Embassy Suites. The bicycles are being supplied by Kent International, a New Jersey-based company that makes 3 million bicycles a year and operates factories in China and South Carolina. Kent has licensed Bylenga’s trademark, Pedal Chic, and is talking with her about selling Pedal Chic-branded bicycles into its retail channels, which are some of the biggest in the world. Retailers that buy bicycles from Kent include Walmart, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Academy Sports + Outdoors, and Amazon.com. Bylenga would be paid a royalty for each bicycle that Kent sells under the Pedal Chic brand. Scott Kamler, Kent president, confirmed the licensing deal in an interview with UBJ. The Pedal Chic brand is “very on trend,” he said. “Everyone is saying they want women-specific bikes. And not just men’s bikes with some teal or purple on it.” Female cyclists are “a big demographic, and they’re kind of getting ignored,” Kamler said. “So I’m on the Robin train.” It’s a welcome turn of events for someone
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who’s spent so many weekends working in the store while others socialized. “I’ve never been this happy,” Bylenga said. “Everything has come together bigger than I’ve ever dreamed.”
Cycling as healing
Bylenga, 52, grew up in various places around the country as her father pursued a career in higher education. A self-confessed workaholic, Bylenga attended colleges in three different states and earned a pre-law degree before working as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines in Texas. She moved to Greenville in 1989 to attend graduate school at Clemson University, where her late father, Max Lennon, was president at the time. Bylenga worked in marketing at Greenville Tech during the day and attended classes in Clemson at night. She recalls riding bicycles with friends frequently in those days, socializing and exercising on the picturesque highways of northern Greenville and Pickens counties. After getting her master’s degree in human resources development, Bylenga sold chemicals to textile companies and other manufacturers. Later, she worked as a commercial real estate agent and made her own handbag designs, selling them through boutiques in Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston. Her cycling activity ebbed for a while, but she resumed regular riding after getting divorced in 2003. It happened after she bumped into a friend at Cleveland Park whose husband had recently died. “We started talking and riding together, and that became our therapy,” Bylenga recalled. “I was healing, and she was healing. We just started riding more and more and more.” At the time, Bylenga had already begun thinking about marketing cycling-related products to women. She remembers pitching a woman’s jersey but not finding any interest. Bylenga sold pumps, valves, and plate heat exchangers to manufacturers before working as a sales clerk at a bicycle shop. At the shop, “Women started gravitating to
me,” she recalled. “I would lead group rides, and I would hear what women were saying about the intimidation factor, and I was disappointed in the apparel and how the store was set up.” That’s when she started thinking about creating an outlet especially for female cyclists. Later, she sold L’Oreal hair care products to salons. A merger, however, left her jobless at the onset of the Great Recession. Bylenga found herself standing in line at the downtown office of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. “It was awful, very humbling,” she said. “I was standing next to a guy that used to ring my doorbell and beg for work cleaning my gutters.” After some soul-searching, Bylenga decided to launch the shop she had dreamed about for years. “I had a little bit of money left,” she said. “I could either spend it living or give this a shot.” In the past, she had always been reticent to take the leap. “It didn’t make sense as a single mother to risk that much,” she said. “When I didn’t have anything to lose, it was easier to take the risk, and I’m so glad I did.” Bylenga began the venture on Labor Day weekend 2010, selling about $1,500 worth of accessories – such as T-shirts and arm warmers – from a booth during a pro cycling race in downtown Greenville. People had come from around the United States and Canada to see the race, and beginning that day Bylenga began building a customer base beyond Greenville. Bylenga remembered telling her business lawyer at their first meeting that she wanted to get a trademark for the Pedal Chic name. She opened the store on Dec. 9, 2010, with the help of a $40,000 loan from Michelin Development, a subsidiary of Greenville-based Michelin North America that helps finance small businesses and startups in communities where the tire maker has operations.
A different kind of bicycle shop
At the time she launched Pedal Chic, Bylenga said most bicycle shops resembled auto parts stores, with lots of rubber and metal hanging 9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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A second Pedal Chic location is set to open this fall along the riverwalk at RiverPlace in downtown Greenville, where Bylenga will begin selling six new models of bicycles.
Bylenga said most bicycle shops resembled auto parts stores, with lots of rubber and metal hanging from grooved panels on the walls. Pedal Chic is more like a fashion boutique, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a bright, teal-and-red logo that blends images of a flower and bicycle wheel. from grooved panels on the walls. There was little apparel designed for women, she said, and often no dressing rooms. Pedal Chic is more like a fashion boutique, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a bright, teal-and-red logo that blends images of a flower and bicycle wheel. Bylenga sees her mission at Pedal Chic as more than profit. “We believe that the lives of women and their families can be transformed by the bike,” Bylenga said. The shop is “our tool to try to reach out to people and change lives.”
Becoming an industry personality
Bylenga’s concentration on female cyclists, combined with her personal story, have proven to be a potent narrative for marketing her business. She’s gotten lots of press over the years, as well as awards and invitations to speak, and has become known as an industry pioneer and expert on selling bicycles to women. She began drawing attention just one month after opening Pedal Chic, when a distributor she’d established an account with asked her to speak at a conference in Minnesota. She’s been a fixture at Interbike, an annual trade show for the industry in North America, 10
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appearing on panels and giving seminars such as the Art and Science of Selling Bikes to Women. Bylenga also organized an annual happy hour for women at Interbike. Over the years, Pedal Chic has won awards from Interbike eight times, starting with Best Women-Friendly Bike Shop in 2012. Bylenga has also spoken at the National Bike Summit, an annual gathering of bicycle enthusiasts in Washington, D.C., and at “diva nights” organized by bicycle shops in Indiana and Tennessee. Major magazines that have written about Bylenga and her business include Money, Southern Living, and Better Homes and Gardens. She has also been featured in trade publications such as Cycling Industry News, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, and Total Women’s Cycling.
Territorial limits
All of the exposure has been good for Bylenga’s business. “I have customers all over Canada, all over the United States,” she said. “I’m starting to get requests from overseas, because this market was basically untapped.” She faces a limitation, however, in capitalizing on her big network. She’s contractually barred from shipping bicycles outside of the sales territories assigned to
her by the four brands of bicycle she sells. She will not face that restriction when she starts selling her own line.
New product, new store
Kent opened an assembly operation in Manning, S.C., in 2014 to supply bicycles to Walmart after the retailer pledged to buy $2.5 billion worth of U.S.-made goods over a decade. Bylenga said she first met Kamler, the Kent president, at Interbike last September. She had struck the licensing deal by the time her father passed away in November. Bylenga designed the six models of Pedal Chic bicycles herself, employing lessons learned during the many years of helping women find the best fit in seats and handlebars. Each model will sell for less than $500 and has its own carefully thought-out name. There’s Radiate, Transform, Refine, Allure, and Invigorate. Bylenga is calling her beach cruiser Coral Crush. Her RiverPlace store will be located right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. It will have a 25-foot ceiling and overhead bicycle racks that will move up or down with the touch of a button. Best of all, Bylenga said, customers will be able to park free for an hour and a half in the RiverPlace garage.
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BorgWarner plant in Seneca expanding again The BorgWarner auto parts plant in Seneca is growing for the sixth time since 2007. In the latest expansion, the company will spend $71.9 million and add 160 jobs at the plant as the result of new business, according to a news release from the state Commerce Depart- Machinist Thomas Blackwell working at the BorgWarner plant in Seneca. Photos by Will Crooks ment. BorgWarner already employs about 900 people at the factory, according to David Jacobs, plant manager. The plant makes a part called a transfer case that goes in Ford, Dodge, and Toyota pickup trucks, as well as the Cadillac ATS/CTS and the Chrysler 300. The transfer cases – gears and bearings inside an aluminum or magnesium housing – transfer torque to rear and/or front wheels. They weigh between 100 and 150 pounds each. BorgWarner, based in Auburn Hills, Mich., previously spent $76.4 million and added 323 jobs in five expansions at the plant between 2007 and 2015, according to Richard Blackwell, Oconee County’s economic development director. –Rudolph Bell
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Hamrick Mills expanding operations in Cherokee County Hamrick Mills, a Gaffney-based textile manufacturer, plans to invest $6 million to expand its production capabilities, according to a press release from Upstate Alliance. The company plans to use the capital investment to purchase new manufacturing equipment for both of its plants in Cherokee County. It will not add jobs. “Our company strongly believes in investing in our community by being a good corporate citizen and also by encouraging civic involvement by our associates,” said Hamrick Mills CFO Charles Hamrick in a news release. “We are very proud of that heritage, and our current expansion efforts show a continued resolve to invest in our community and grow our business for the benefit of everyone involved.” Established in 1900, the company produces high-quality woven fabrics for use in home furnishings, industrial applications, and apparel markets. The company’s “Made in the USA” fabric lines are produced entirely at its two production facilities in Cherokee County. The company employs 430 people between its two plants, sales office, and corporate headquarters. Hamrick Mills operates under the direction of fourth- and fifth-generation family members and credits continuous innovation for its sustained success, the release said. –Andrew Moore
FINANCE
VentureSouth expands into NC’s Triad region VentureSouth, the Greenville-based network of angel investor groups, has added a new affiliate in North Carolina’s Triad region. The addition of VentureSouth Piedmont, whose territory includes Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, brings to 13 the number of angel investor groups in both Carolinas that fall under the VentureSouth umbrella. The new Triad group is led by Malay Shah and Matt Bailey, both of whom have master’s degrees in business administration from Duke University, according to the VentureSouth website. Shah, who’s based in Winston-Salem, has experience in corporate finance, as well as investing in startups and real estate. Bailey, based in Greensboro, is a former management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and previously acquired and operated distressed manufacturers for a private investor. He is also on the board of FarmShots, a VentureSouth 9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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portfolio company. VentureSouth said in a news release that it had invested $2.6 million in 13 companies across the Southeast this year — 30 percent more than in the same period last year. The group emerged out of a Greenville-based angel investor group, the Upstate Carolina Angel Network, and is managed from offices in the Next Innovation Center in downtown Greenville. Other angel investor groups in the network are located in Spartanburg, Anderson, Clemson, Columbia, Charlotte, Charleston, Rock Hill, Myrtle Beach, Asheville, Hilton Head, and Aiken. “VentureSouth continues to grow as more communities and more members see the value of a professionally managed angel investment platform that combines the collective brainpower of over 250 business and community leaders, the unrivaled experience of a dedicated team, and a proven model for making high-quality, early-stage investments,” said Paul Clark, one of four VentureSouth managing directors. –Andrew Moore
RECREATION
Spartanburg County will host Spartan Race Nov. 4 and 5 Spartanburg County’s sports tourism industry will get a big shot of adrenaline in November. For the first time, Spartan Race will stomp through the county during the Carolina Beast and Sprint weekend Nov. 4 and 5. The event will be held on more than 700 acres of land adjacent to the University of South Carolina Upstate and Milliken & Co.’s global headquarters. It promises to bring 10,000 competitors to the Upstate and net Spartanburg and surrounding counties millions of dollars in economic impact, according to event planners. “With such an incredible natural landscape that boasts hiking trails, nature reserves, rivers, and a plethora of outdoor activities, we couldn’t think of a better city to host a Spartan Race,” said Spartan Race’s Founder and CEO Joe De Sena in a statement. “We look forward to challenging the Spartanburg community with our gritty race events, and encourage people to step outside their comfort zones
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Spartan Race participants compete in intense physical activities, such as jumping through fire, crawling under barbed wire, and scaling walls. Photo provided
and onto the course to push their minds and bodies to the limit.” Spartan Race participants will jump through fire, crawl under barbed wire, scale walls, and tackle other obstacles during the weekend. Events include the Reebok Spartan Race 3+ mile, 20+ Obstacle “Sprint,” 12+ Mile 30+ Obstacle “Beast,” and Spartan Kids races for youth ages 4 to 13 years old. “We are very excited about hosting a Spartan Race in Spartanburg,” said Chris Jennings, executive vice president of the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB), in a statement. “This is a tremendous addition to the growing level of sports-related tourism in Spartanburg. We’re looking forward to all the athletes and their families coming to Spartanburg, and I know our restaurants, hotels, retailers, and other businesses will feel a positive impact from their presence.” The event is open to the public. Tickets are $20 online until the Friday before the event. Tickets at the gate will be $25. The Beast and Sprint races for adults range from about $100 to more than $200. Kids events ranging from ½-mile to 2-mile races range from $25 to $35. For $100, participants can take part in the Hurricane Heat, an event that goes on and off the Spartan Race course. Participants will be assigned a team upon arrival and will be expected to work together to complete all challenges as a team. Successful finishers will receive Hurricane Heat dog tags, a finisher shirt, entry into a closed networking group, and “the chance to build relationships that will last well beyond the finish line.” Kristyn Hawkins, sports tourism sales
director for the SCVB, said Spartanburg, via the Spartanburg Sports Alliance, has been bidding to win a Spartan Race since 2013. She said the county had to go through an intensive evaluation process that took into consideration several factors, including a race site, hotels, and other amenities. Hawkins said she anticipates hotels in Spartanburg will be fully booked due to the event and visitors will spill over into Greenville and Cherokee counties. She said a handful of local families and institutions worked together to provide a site for the race. Several local companies will participate in the event through sponsorships and other support. “[Spartan Race] is very interested in being in Spartanburg,” Hawkins said. “We have great land. There are a lot of international businesses, which Spartan Race believes will help them grow their market.” Hawkins said Spartan Race outgrew its other South Carolina location in Columbia. She expects the Spartanburg event will be larger than other nearby Spartan Races held in Asheville, N.C., and Charlotte, N.C., because it is a “true qualifying event.” Spartan Race said it would host about 200 events across 30 countries, drawing in more than 1 million visitors during 2017. –Trevor Anderson
REAL ESTATE
Greenville SVN | BlackStream team brokers $12.1M North Charleston sale The Greenville-based SVN | BlackStream team recently sold Alston Arms Apartments in the emerging submarket
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
of North Charleston for $12.1 million. Joey Weinel, Jonathan Kessler, and Keith Nelson represented the seller on the sale with no buyer representation. Alston Arms Apartments consists of 160 units, all two bedrooms and one bath. Built in 2007, Alston Arms sits on 8.73 acres with 7,200 square feet. “In this transaction, the SVN BlackStream Multi-Family Team was able to successfully meet the needs of both the buyer and seller,” Weinel says. “For our seller client, it was an opportunistic time to sell with the market we are currently in and his original 10-year note coming due. The buyers were able to use attractive long-term leverage to buy a newer cash flowing product in a rapidly gentrifying North Charleston submarket with an immediate opportunity for rent appreciation and long-term growth.” The apartment complex is located in close proximity to Bosch Charleston Plant, Northwood Mall, and the Charleston Airport, and within a 10-minute drive to the Charleston Naval Base. The SVN BlackStream Multi-Family Team is ranked in the 7 percent of 1,500-plus SVN advisors in the nation. –Ariel Turner
RETAIL & HOSPITALITY
Southern Om Hot Yoga expands to Greenville’s West End Southern Om Hot Yoga, which operates a studio next to Whole Foods Market on Woodruff Road, is adding a second studio location at 1116 S. Main St. in Greenville, located at the intersection of Main Street and Perry Avenue in the West End. The new studio, which is located two blocks from Fluor Field behind the Nachman, Norwood, and Parrott office and includes free onsite parking, is scheduled to open to the public in late October. “We are thrilled to be expanding the Southern Om family to serve the West End of downtown Greenville,” says Pace Beattie, owner and founder of Southern Om Hot Yoga. “This is a natural evolution for our business that has been in the works for many years. We are blessed to have the community of yogis that have chosen Southern Om as their home studio, and look forward to the opportunity to enhance their health journey through yoga.” Southern Om opened seven years ago on Woodruff Road in the Market Square shopping center, offering heated classes in both static and vinyasa flow styles. The new location will offer both heated and warm classes in two state-of-the-art studio spaces. New classes include ashtanga primary series, southern stretch (a restorative yoga practice), southern yin, kids yoga, and hot pilates. Current students may continue to use their class cards and memberships purchased at the Woodruff Road location. –Ariel Turner
EDUCATION
SC Upstate researcher awarded $363K grant to study electric vehicle charging solutions The University of South Carolina Upstate announced last week one of its researchers has landed a grant to study efficient charging solutions for electric vehicles. Ona Egbue, assistant professor of engineering technology management in USC Upstate’s Division of Natural Sciences and Engineering, has secured a $363,000 National Science Foundation grant. The grant will be used for a three-year project titled “An Integrated Framework for the Optimal Control of Vehicle-to-Grid Systems.” “The problem arises when there is a connection of a large number of electric vehicles to the electric grid,” Egbue said in a statement. “As an example, think of a large electric vehicle parking lot: If the lot is full and every car is charging, this could present some challenges in terms of how to manage this increased Ona Egbue electricity demand. However, if managed well, this scenario can present opportunities, particularly in a smart grid.” USC Upstate said Egbue’s work will focus on vehicle-to-grid systems where electric vehicle batteries can be used to help balance the demand for electricity against the supply.
| NEWS
“Actually, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that you’ve got that extra load from all the vehicles you have to charge,” she added. “It can actually be a good thing, because they can act as energy storage sources for the grid.” Egbue said the needs of car owners must be the primary concern. She said the study will address the current “gap” in research on the integration of plug-in electric vehicles into the power grid. The award began Sept. 15 and will end Aug. 31, 2020. She will collaborate with a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. – Trevor Anderson
MANAGEMENT
Kilgore to chair Greenville Chamber in 2019 Greenville attorney Phillip A. Kilgore has been selected to be chairman of the Greenville Chamber’s board in 2019. Kilgore, a shareholder with the Ogletree Deakins law firm, has served on the chamber’s board for five years and is also its vice chair of business advocacy. He is also chairman of the Greenville Water Commission and on the board of the Boy Scouts of America’s Blue Ridge Council. He has served in other volunteer roles over the years with the Rotary Club of Greenville, the Greenville Board of Zoning Appeals, the Poinsett Club, the Urban League of the Upstate, and the Greater Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau. The chamber’s current chair is Brenda Thames, vice president of academic and faculty affairs at Greenville Health System. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College, is scheduled to become Greenville Chamber chair in 2018. –Rudolph Bell Phillip A. Kilgore
IT’S PLANE SIMPLE
MORE NONSTOPS • CONVENIENT PARKING LESS HASSLE • LOW FARES
100 OVER
TOTAL D NONST AILY OPS
OVER
8%
CH THAN CEAPER HARLOT ON TE AVERA G
E*
www.gspairport.com *Average one way fare plus Passenger Facility Charge in each of GSP’s top 50 markets per USDOT for calendar year 2016.
9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
13
COVER |
SPINX
The
Spinx Dynasty How Stewart Spinks turned a failing Shell station into a pit stop powerhouse WORDS BY TREVOR ANDERSON | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS
14
UBJ | 9.29.2017
SPINX
S
tewart Spinks knows success is not given, but earned. And for more than 45 years, the Greenville entrepreneur has fueled his company’s growth with a formula that includes hard work, perseverance, wise decisions, and one other unique quality. “Why was I able to thrive in the marketplace? Because I was willing to adapt to what the customer was telling me,” said Spinks, founder and chairman of Greenville-based Spinx Co. “Buying gas is a necessity for having mobility,” he added. “If you want something, we’re going to do our best to give it to you.” Today, Spinks’ convenience store chain has 81 locations and 1,425 employees in South Carolina. Spinx Co. has three affiliate companies, including Enigma Corp., the real estate arm of Spinx Co.; Spinx Transportation Co., a freight company that delivers to Spinx stores and other customers; and Ace Energy, a wholesale fuel company founded by Spinks’ son, Stephen “Steve” Spinks, in 2009. Steve Spinks, who became the company’s CEO in 2012, said Spinx Co.’s revenues in 2016 reached $588 million. In August, the company announced it was ranked No. 71 on Convenience Store Magazine’s Top 100 list for 2017. The annual list recognizes the nation’s largest convenience store chains. The company’s headquarters and 75 corporate employees are housed in 15,000 square feet of the Bell Plaza shopping center at 1414 E. Washington St. Across the street from Spinx Co.’s home office is a sparkling store that replaced the old Shell gas station Stewart Spinks purchased in 1972 to launch his entrepreneurial dream.
Humble beginnings
Spinks was born in 1948 in Charleston. He was raised in Augusta, Ga. His mother was the hostess at a hotel, and his father was a mechanic and a hospital orderly. Spinks said his father encouraged him to excel in the classroom. Spinks, however, enjoyed working on cars and spent plenty of time rubbing elbows with mechanics. “I could relate to a guy who had to work hard for a living,” Spinks said. In 1965, he turned down an appointment at the U.S. Military Academy and enrolled at the University of Tennessee with a football scholarship.
| COVER
Spinks earned a Bachelor of Arts in marketing in 1969 and went to work full-time for Shell Oil as a territory representative. In 1970, he arrived in Greenville after working in Atlanta and the Columbia/Florence area. “I came here as a 23-year-old and had responsibility for all of the company’s stores in Greenville,” Spinks said. “It was exciting.” He said the industry was undergoing a massive transition during the early 1970s. Major oil companies were grappling with the early stages of what later became an energy crisis, as well as moving away from a full-service model in favor of self-service stations. In July 1972, Spinks made the decision to branch out on his own. He decided to lease Shell’s worst performing station in the market at the corner of Washington Street and Laurens Road. “It was one of the stations on our disposable list, meaning it was marginal and a location the company would like to sell,” Spinks said. “It wasn’t profitable for Shell, but I saw the potential.” A few months later, in fall 1972, Spinks purchased the heating oil business of Greenville businessman Joe Foster for $50,000. He promised to pay the debt in five years. He did. In 1974, Spinks purchased the Washington Street Shell station. He then began acquiring more real estate. Between 1976 and 1981, Spinks formed Spinx Co. and grew the company to 10 stations and about 100 employees. Realizing that customer habits were changing, Spinks decided to implement a self-service island at one of his stores. He built his first self-service station at the corner of Rutherford and Shaw streets in Greenville. Spinks said he was one of the first operators in Greenville to embrace the self-service model. While his customers enjoyed cheaper gas prices that were a product of his move away from full service, Spinks said the savings his customers seemed to enjoy the most was in their time. “People were not afraid of it,” he said. “They enjoyed it. They didn’t have to wait for an attendant to come out and pump their gas.”
Adapting with the market
From the time he invested in his first store in 1972 until the energy crisis of 1979, Spinks said fuel prices at the pump increased from about 25 cents per gallon to $1.29.
9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
15
COVER |
SPINX
Spinks said early self-serve pumps were mechanical. Unlike the pumps of today, store attendants couldn’t control the flow of fuel or even see how much customers were pumping. “It made it really easy for people to steal gas from me,” he said. Another problem, Spinks said, was that early pumps were only able to register up to 49.99 cents per gallon. As gas prices increased, Spinks said he had to sell gas by the half-gallon, which was a little confusing for customers. Eventually, the technology improved and pumps were able to register up to 99.99 cents per gallon. Later, the advent of electronic pumps made it possible for store attendants to monitor and control fuel from inside the store. Spinks said the next wave of pump improvement for his stores came in the late 1980s with the arrival of remote pay. Remote pay utilized automated teller machine (ATM) technology. Spinks said each fuel island containing multiple pumps could be served by one ATM that enabled customers to pay for their fuel. In 1989, Spinks decided to sell 90 percent of his company to BP. He briefly retired. By 1991, he had caught the bug again. He made a comeback and quickly started to rebuild the Spinx portfolio of stores. Spinks adopted pay-at-the-pump technology in 1992. Unlike many other operators, Spinks said he made the decision to accept cash payments at the pump. “Why would I discriminate against a cash customer?” he said. “We were one of the only companies in South Carolina to do that.”
In July 1972, Spinks made the decision to branch out on his own. He decided to lease Shell’s worst performing station in the market at the corner of Washington Street and Laurens Road. “It was one of the stations on our disposable list.”
Gas retailers began merging their fuel sales by offering food, drink, and other items. Consumer demand gave rise to new, creative strategies aimed at capturing market share. The convergence of fuel and retail items for customers on the go aptly became known as the convenience store. For the first time in his career, Spinks said he felt out of his depth. “I had learned the value of promotion and customer loyalty,” he said. “What I didn’t know how to do was sell convenience store items.” With the company growing, Spinks said he started to focus on attracting talented employees who could help him take the company to the next level. One of those recruits was his son, Steve. Steve is the eldest of four boys born to Stewart and his wife, Martha Spinks. Their youngest son, Whitney Spinks, is also involved in the company. Some of Steve’s earliest memories include visiting his dad’s first store and being allowed to operate the hydraulic car lifts. Steve graduated from Darlington High
Rise of the convenience store
During the mid- to late-1990s, Spinks said the industry began going through another transformation.
School in Rome, Ga. He attended Rhodes College in Tennessee, where he played soccer and earned a degree in philosophy. After graduating from college in 1991, Steve moved back to Greenville and went to work with his dad. He later earned an MBA from Duke University. In 2011, Steve helped his father complete the sale of 20 percent of the company to an employee stock ownership program. Employees who have been with Spinx for at least three years have the opportunity to buy company shares. “We always try to go the extra mile for our employees,” Steve said. “But one of the things that has truly set us apart from our competitors is Dad’s commitment to his customers.” Despite their crisp matching dress shirts embroidered with the Spinx Co.’s logo, father and son are different in many ways. Stewart speaks with candor and has always preferred to be a man of action. Steve is a little more reserved, intellectual, and analytical. Both men are intelligent, polite, and exceedingly gracious.
THE SPINX PIPELINE 1969
1972
Signs on with Shell Oil as a territory rep in Greenville
1974 Purchases the Washington Avenue station from Shell
Quits Shell to lease his first service station and purchases a fuel oil delivery company 16
UBJ | 9.29.2017
1976 to 1981
1977
1983
Builds nine more stations; company grows to 100 employees
Registers Spinx trademark
1990
1991 to 1993
Sells 90 percent of Spinx to BP
Purchases 18 stores with a $5.5 million loan, bringing the company to 33 locations
Buys 28 convenience stores
SPINX
“Dad is such an entrepreneur,” Steve said. “He’s always learning, but he loves to teach. I’ve tried to fill in the gaps where I can. “We’ve got a very good foundation,” the son added. “I think we have a good balance.” The one thing both men have in common is a love for Greenville and a desire to make an impact across the state. According to the company’s website, Spinx donates 10 percent of its annual profits to charities in the communities it serves.
QuikTrip, have continued to expand in South Carolina. The company also has to contend with the likes of Walmart, Costco, and other grocery story chains that have fueling centers. Steve and Stewart said they welcome the competition and believe the future for Spinx remains bright. They plan to continue to listen to their customers and provide services and products that increase loyalty to their brand. For example, the Spinx Xtras reward card allows customers to earn 5 cents off per gallon for every $25 they spend in a Spinx store. Items called Xtraspecials items help customers earn more savings on fuel. Customers who enroll their Xtra Card as a debit card can get a 5-cent-per-gallon discount every time they fill up. A Spinx Xtras app, available for Apple and Android devices, enables customers to check their rewards balance, pay at the pump, or pay inside the store.
The next wave
Stewart said Spinx is currently the largest privately owned convenience store operator headquartered in South Carolina. He said the company offers more alternative fuels than any other retailer in the country. The operation of Spinx Co. was officially handed over to Stan Storti in 2014, as Storti was promoted from CFO to president and Stewart Spinks was named chairman. In December 2016, the company opened its remodeled store near the Village of West Greenville at the corner of Pendleton and Academy streets. The store features a community garden. Steve said the company plans to continue to add to its portfolio of stores. Future stores will feature modern design, state-of-the-art technology, and an ever-expanding selection of fresh foods. Stewart told the Upstate Business Journal that fuel sales comprise about one-third of the company’s gross profits. The remaining profits come from the sale of food and beverages, lottery tickets, and car washes. Steve said the company has stores to date that sell more than $1 million in prepared foods per year. In the battle for market share, Spinx’s competitors, including Tulsa, Okla.-based
1993
1995
1994
Becomes an Arby’s, Subway franchisee
Becomes a Burger King franchisee
Buys EXXON stores in S.C. Becomes a Pizza Inn and Dairy Queen franchisee
| COVER
A new HQ
With the company growing, Spinks said he started to focus on attracting talented employees who could help him take the company to the next level. One of those recruits was his son, Steve.
1996 to 1998
2011
2012
Starts employee stock participation program Builds eight combo convenience-stores with various franchisees
Stewart and Steve said they are in the planning phase for a new corporate office on property adjacent to their current headquarters. The company leaders said they weren’t yet at liberty to share specific details about their plans, but they did say they hope the facility will convey their commitment to Greenville for many years to come. “As the largest retailer [of fuel] headquartered in South Carolina, we want our corporate office to reflect our evolution and our leadership,” Steve said. “We want to show our customers that we’re here to stay. We plan to deepen our roots here. We started here, and now we are planning for the long haul.”
2016 Annual revenue is $571 million.
Steve takes over as CEO, and Stewart becomes the chairman of the board. 9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
17
EVERY TROPHY HAS A STORY FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, the Cowart family has been “Making Awards That Make Winners Smile.” Cowart Awards has been around long enough to understand that there is more to winning than just receiving the trophy. In fact, every trophy has a story. Any time someone receives a trophy they also receive a memory that will last a lifetime. The Cowart Awards team is proud to use technology and techniques that are innovative within the awards industry to present their customers with the best quality and service. Cowart Awards is a family business, and the community is an extension of that family. Cheryl Taylor likes to say that when she married her husband, George, in 1970 she married into the trophy business. The couple ran Cowart Awards together for more than 30 years until George passed away in 2005. Today Cheryl continues his legacy with the help of her son George Jr., daughter Erin, and brother Raji. George and his brother, Tom, started the business as Cowart Engravers in 1965, operating out of the family garage in West Greenville. A few years later they added trophies to the mix, relocated to Laurens Road, and changed the name to Cowart Awards. George’s commitment to quality and customer service built the foundation for success the company still enjoys today. Because “Every Trophy Has a Story,” Cheryl invites you to share your award-worthy story with photographs if available. Send them to service@awardsthatwork.com and the stories shared on their Facebook and website will beautifully preserve those memories for a lifetime.
912 LAURENS ROAD, GREENVILLE
|
864.271.9131
SQUARE FEET |
REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com |
@DolphBell
DEVELOPMENT
CitiSculpting Hotel, housing part of long-term plan to remake Agfa site
CitiSculpt, the developer that bought the downtown Greenville property along Academy Street where Agfa Healthcare has offices, says it eventually plans to put a hotel and housing on the site. But right now, CitiSculpt’s main focus is erecting a second office building on the property, in addition to the existing office building that houses Agfa Healthcare’s North American headquarters. Charles Lindsey McAlpine, CitiSculpt managing partner, said no start dates have been decided for the 125-room hotel and 230 residences that his firm mentioned in preliminary development plans filed at City Hall. The proposed hotel and housing are “heavily dependent on market factors,” McAlpine said. “We hope it will be sooner than later,” he said. “But we also want to make sure whatever we build will be successful, so we’re taking a measured approach.” He said the proposed housing could be apartments, condos, townhomes, or senior housing. No brand has been selected for the hotel, he said. Plans for the new office-and-retail building are further along. UBJ reported late last month that CitiSculpt plans to break ground on that 60,000-squarefoot, four-story building late this year or early next year. It’s planned at the corner of Academy Street and McBee Avenue, where a parking lot is now. The building would have retail space on the ground floor and offices on upper floors. No tenants have been announced. CitiSculpt, which is based in Charlotte, N.C., and has an office in Greenville, in March paid $10.2 million for 4.78 acres that make up most 20
UBJ | 9.29.2017
Proposed housing at the Agfa site in downtown Greenville could be apartments, condos, townhomes, or senior housing. A hotel is also planned. Photo illustration by Greenville on the Rise. Renderings by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture.
of a city block bounded by Academy Street, McBee Avenue, Washington Street, and West Broad Street. It’s keeping the existing 60,000-square-foot office building on the site that houses Agfa and other tenants.
McAlpine said the hotel would go at the corner of Washington and Academy streets. He said Agfa plans a courtyard-fronting Academy Street between the proposed office-and-retail building and proposed hotel.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN THE UPSTATE
SVN BLACKSTREAM ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTION: Donald Mercer and Lucas Ward were the agents in the sale of the 45,000-SF industrial building on 2.34 AC located at 17 P&N Drive in the I-85 S/Donaldson submarket of Greenville County to TSN Realty, an out-of-state investor. CARDINAL COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Robert L. Brissie Jr. was the agent in the sale of a 1.9-AC parcel located on Ketron Court, Greenville, to the developers of a My Place Hotel. Robert L. Brissie Jr. was the agent in the lease of a retail suite at Garlington Station at 1134 Woodruff Road to Deka Lash. LEE & ASSOCIATES | GREENVILLE ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Randall Bentley was the agent in the lease of 1,524 SF at 8595 Pelham Road, Ste. 600, in Greenville by Armaly Properties LLC to Lawson Chiropractic Wellness Center Inc. Randall Bentley was the agent in the lease of 9,014 SF at 3309 Pelzer Highway in Easley by the Margaret G. Hendrix Estate to Dolgencorp LLC. Randall Bentley was the agent in the lease of 1,295 SF at 8595 Pelham Road, Ste. 400, in Greenville by Armaly Properties LLC to Aim Mail Center. Randall Bentley was the agent in the lease of 2,440 SF at 419 SE Main St., Ste. 200, by Chancellors LLC to Allie and Michael Hamstead. Randall Bentley and Darath A. Mackie were the agents in the lease of 3,000 SF at 1110 West Butler Road, Ste. E, in Greenville to RAC Acceptance East LLC. Randall Bentley and Darath A. Mackie were the agents in the lease of 2,700 SF at 501 Richardson St. Ext., Ste. B, in Simpsonville by E-Power Trading LLC to Express Press of Greenville Inc. Kevin Bentley was the agent in the lease of 2,295 SF at 1004 W. Georgia Road, Ste. E, in Simpsonville by JSI Simpsonville LLC to Tony’s Pizza and Subs. Darath A. Mackie was the agent in the 1,560-SF lease at 518 S. Main St. in Simpsonville by Susan Bright to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company LLC. Randall Bentley and Ashley Trantham were the agents in the
sale of 4,200 SF at 5116 Calhoun Memorial Highway in Easley by William M. Hendrix, trustee of the Hendrix Family Trust, to The Blood Connection Inc. SPENCER/HINES PROPERTIES ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS: Lynn Spencer and Guy Harris were the agents in the sale of 16,286 SF at 727 Bryant Road, Spartanburg, by CM Reo SI LLC to Steve Brock. Andy Hayes and Ben Hines were the agents in the sale of 4,000 SF of retail space at 231 Kennedy St., Spartanburg, by Mildred Tucker and to 231 Kennedy LLC. Andy Hayes and Ben Hines were the agents in the sale of 4,000 SF of office space at 2380 New Cut Road, Spartanburg, by M & P Associates to Riva Enterprises LLC. Neal Boyett was the agent in the sale of 17,500 SF of industrial space at 4241 Orchard Park Blvd., Spartanburg, by RT Orchard Business Park 2 LLC to Sunset Holdings LLC. Guy Harris was the agent in the sale of 9,900 SF of retail at 1461 E. Main St., Spartanburg, by Branch Banking & Trust to Founder Federal Credit Union.
| DEALMAKERS
were the agents in the lease of 1,296 SF of retail at 358A E. Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, by Petra Inc. to Kimberly Mills.
of 3,670 SF of office space at 1190 Asheville Highway, Spartanburg, by 2 B’s LLC to Marketplace Staffing. Robbie Romeiser was the agent in the lease of 1,200 SF retail at 347-A E. Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, by Caman Group to Timika Williams.
JOYNER COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCES THE FOLLOWING TRANSACTIONS:
Dale Seay was the agent in the lease of 506 SF of retail at 1000 N. Pine St., Spartanburg, by Baker & Baker to Deanne Millwood.
Joe Teague was the agent in the lease of 1,390 SF at 1791 Woodruff Road, Ste. B, Greenville, by Junasujin LLC to Head Coach Haircuts.
Dale Seay was the agent in the lease of 5,376 SF of industrial space at 750 N. Main St., Spartanburg, by Nick Kargiatlis to Piedmont Health & Fitness.
Greg Huff was the agent in the sale of 6,000 SF at 317 New Neely Ferry Road in Mauldin by Byte Software Services. Caleb Boyd was the agent in the sale of 29.5 AC on Powdersville Road in Easley.
Lynn Spencer was the agent in the lease of 1,568 SF of office space at 101 E. St. John St., Spartanburg, by JM Smith Corp. to Elizabeth Hrubula.
Joe Teague and Hays Reynolds were the agents in the lease of 5,730 SF at 330 Pelham Road by Nietopski LLC.
Lynn Spencer was the agent in the least of 80,000 SF of industrial space at 961 Berry Shoals Road, Duncan, by ATA Properties LLC to 1524 Roper LLC.
Wayne Smith was the agent in the sale of 29 AC on Mud Creek Road in Inman.
Andy Hayes and Ben Hines were the agents in the lease of 14,000 SF of office at 2660 Reidville Road. Spartanburg, by Waterstone Retail to Spartanburg Regional.
Hope Tz Schmalzl was the agent in the lease of 1,412 SF at 3016 N. Main St., Greenville to Get Weird LLC.
Dylan Abernathy and Lynn Spencer
Neal Boyett and Guy Harris were the agents in the sale of 4,100 and 2,000 SF of office and retail space at 366 and 378 S. Pine St., Spartanburg, by Severin’s Way LLC to Sweet Tea Salon/Wilson’s Way LLC. Dale Seay was the agent in the sale of 1.49 AC of retail space at 8215 Highway 11, Campobello, by Michael Blackwell to Terry & Diane Lawson. Craig Jacobs was the agent in the sale of 3,550 SF of retail space at 1214 Asheville Highway, Spartanburg, by Nelson Medlin to 907 N. Main St. LLC. Robbie Romeiser and Guy Harris were the agents in the lease of 3,600 SF of retail space at 418 W. Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, by Turner Ventures to Carolina Fashions Inc. Craig Jacobs was the agent in the lease of 2,600 SF of restaurant space at 435 E. Main St., Spartanburg, by Baehr Investments LLC to Jason Glenn. Craig Jacobs and Phil Phillips were the agents in the lease of 3,000 SF retail at 151 Forest St., Spartanburg, by Jim Brady to All Tune & Lube. Craig Jacobs, Guy Harris, and Lynn Spencer were the agents in the lease
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21
OPINION |
VOICES FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, HEARD HERE
Time for a Change Nuclear plant crisis calls for utility reform protecting the consumer. Had president and CEO, S.C. Small these below Business Chamber of Commerce reforms been in place before 2007, the BLRA The nuclear plant construction might not have project in Fairfield County is now been the flawed legislation that it is, abandoned. Who will be responsible and it may not even have become law. for paying the $9 billion in construcNo person should serve on any body tion bonds for the defunct project associated with either shaping or owned by SCE&G and Santee Cooper? carrying out the regulatory process if SCE&G wants its customers to pay. they, their family, or a business with Santee Cooper, a state agency, will be which they are associated has a busilooking at its customers (which inness relationship with or receives any cludes the state’s co-ops) or a state form of income or compensation from taxpayer bailout. a state-regulated utility, an affiliate of This monumental failure didn’t just such a utility, or an association reprehappen; it’s been building for some senting such utilities. time. In July 2016, the South Carolina Public service commissioners Small Business Chamber of Commerce should be appointed by the governor co-founded a coalition, Stop the Blank or elected by the public but only if Check, to demand changes to a law public financing were provided, with that we believed was encouraging the a prohibition on any private funding nuclear project to go way over budget from any source. and schedule. A consumer advocate position The Coalition members are AARPshould be created within the Office of South Carolina (Partner), Carolina Regulatory Staff (ORS) to represent Peace Resource Center, Kingdom the interests of utility ratepayers. Living Temple, National Association The ORS should not be responsible of Social Workers – S.C. Chapter, New for representing the financial “integAlpha Community Development rity” of utilities as an explicit element Corporation, League of Women Voters in its mission as it is currently. The of South Carolina, S.C. Small Business ORS mission should only be to repreChamber of Commerce, Sustainable sent the interests of ratepayers and Midlands, and the Whitney M. Slater the general public interest. Foundation. The Public Utility Review CommitThe Base Load Review Act (BLRA) tee (PURC), composed of a handful of all but required state utility regulators legislators and private citizens to to approve every construction budget oversee ORS, has inadequate protecincrease and allowed automatic tion against conflicts of interest and annual rate increases, which included represents a blurring of lines between profit of over 10 percent, to pay for legislative and executive functions. just the construction financing costs. PURC should be disbanded and its But with SCE&G, Santee Cooper, functions given to the governor and and even Duke Energy now no longer appropriate House and Senate legiswanting to build a nuclear plant, the lative committees. state legislature should easily decide Regulated utilities should be proto terminate the BLRA. That’s what hibited from making campaign conthe coalition is now recommending. tributions to individual political canHowever, this crisis has exposed didates, parties, political action regulatory reforms needed for some committees, or caucuses. time. The reforms being proposed by Santee Cooper’s public status shields the coalition address both the undue it from the needed regulatory oversight influence that utility companies have given to private utilities, and it also on our elected officials and regulators, lacks proper oversight by elected and they focus more attention on leaders. The state agency must be made
By FRANK KNAPP JR.
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UBJ | 9.29.2017
SCE&G and Santee Cooper recently backed out of plans to build a nuclear plant in Fairfield County after spending $9 billion.
But with SCE&G, Santee Cooper, and even Duke Energy now no longer wanting to build a nuclear plant, the state legislature should easily decide to terminate the BLRA. That’s what the coalition is now recommending. more accountable. The governor should be able to remove Santee Cooper directors at will, and the agency should be under the same regulative oversight, laws, and rules as privately owned utilities. The state should take control of the direction of its energy future by developing an energy plan for South Carolina that reflects the state’s diversity of energy sources and flexibility to move forward toward an affordable sustainable future. Finally, every effort should be taken
by state agencies, organizations, individuals, and private attorneys to hold SCE&G and SCANA shareholders – and those of its parent company SCANA –responsible for the incurred construction costs of the abandoned nuclear plants. These are the recommendations of our coalition to restructure our utility regulatory system to create a consumer-friendly regulatory process and prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again.
THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS
| DIGITAL MAVEN
Be Aware Build a culture of security in your company by harnessing the power of your employees October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. Since 2004, the president, portfoliosc.com United States and other countries around the world have used this opportunity to educate, providing tools and training to help arm us against the daily threats that go hand-in-hand with the dynamic technology we enjoy in our personal and business lives. My company, Portfolio, is proud to be a champion and sponsor of this program. Small-business owners often don’t believe they are of interest to hackers, but a Ponemon survey found that in 2016 half of all small- to medium-sized businesses were hacked. Those are businesses with under 100 employees and less than $50 million in annual revenues. Protecting your business against cyberattacks is a good news, bad news proposition. The good news is that almost all business are running some form of malware/anti-virus protection. The bad news is that 53 percent of you are using free tools designed for home, not commercial, use. Even if you have chosen stronger tools — like Symantec or Sophos —they only stop about 75 percent of malware and infected emails. The fact is that no technology system can succeed alone. True security is three-pronged:
By LAURA HAIGHT
1 Hardware like firewalls and segmented 2 3
networks, edge systems with intrusion detection. Software such as anti-virus and malware detection, email-filtering systems with learning algorithms. Humanware, the often neglected but most critical of the three. No amount of technology, regardless of the cost, can protect a business from an authenticated user who clicks, opens, or installs something they shouldn’t.
Security is not an IT problem. It is a business problem.
BUILDING A CYBER-AWARE CULTURE An awareness workflow, training, testing, and rewarding are all part of the process necessary to fully involve your employees in protecting your business. Workflow Your folks are going to get malicious emails, and they may click on something they shouldn’t. They must know who to notify and feel safe in admitting that they made a mistake. There must also be a process to quickly act to isolate the threat and remediate the problem. One click isn’t a disaster, unless it goes unchecked. A final part of the workflow is notifying others of the threat. An email that reaches one of your employees will almost certainly go to others. Training Do not assume everyone knows how to identify risky emails. The 2016 Verizon Data Breach Report evaluated data from 8 million sanctioned email tests and found 30 percent of bad emails were opened and 12 percent of employees opened the attachment or link. That is a higher percentage than the previous year. Assuming they aren’t trying to hurt the business, they must not be recognizing the threats. Training can help, either through online programs — some of which are free — or even a quarterly lunch that reviews threats your business has seen over the period. Testing Many businesses regularly test their employees by sending random bad emails to see how many will click. This should not be a pejorative exercise, but a training opportunity. Although this seems like a big-business tool, it isn’t anywhere near as expensive as you might think — especially when factored against the costs of ransomware, data breaches, or remediation.
Small-business owners often don’t believe they are of interest to hackers, but a survey found that in 2016 half of all small- to medium-sized businesses were hacked. Reward The Verizon report found that fewer than 3 percent of employees who got a malicious email via sanctioned testing alerted management. That’s a very low rate. Employees need to know why it matters, that an attack is rarely focused on only one employee, and that the company will act quickly to warn others. For their efforts, employees should get some reward. Recognition does matter to employees. In a hectic and demanding world of work, who doesn’t love a public pat on the back? More tips and links on building this culture in your business are available from staysafeonline.org. Throughout October, information to help navigate our connected lives safely, securely, and confidently will be getting a great deal of exposure. Look for #CyberAware to find resources and practitioners to help you get and stay secure.
FOR SALE TAPROOM/RESTAURANT
• The Beer Joint, 1818 Augusta Street (Open now) • The Beer Joint, 2603 North Pleasantburg #J (Ready but not open) Two brand new beer taprooms, occupancies 88 and 73, 2500 sq ft+, with $400,000+ build outs, long term leases, professionally designed and outfitted, are FOR SALE or seek a PARTNER(s). Separate LLCs are fully licensed and registered. Originally a franchise, they must become full service restaurant/taprooms. Expanding and equipping the kitchens may cost $100,000. EVERYTHING in these two locations is new, including state-of-the art HVAC, FULL AV systems, 33 taps, walk-in coolers, furniture and bars. The owner would like to limit his involvement in operations or sell outright at a substantial loss.
Email owner at roger.kersch@gmail.com or call 828 735-9711. Or call Cecil, Sunbelt Business Brokers, at 864 934-2225.
9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
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THE TAKEAWAY |
NOTES FROM THE BEST TALKS YOU MISSED
From T-shirts to Employee-branded Apparel What: Endeavor’s Collaborators & Cocktails professional development monthly series Where: Endeavor, a coworking community for creatives in the ONE Building Who Was There: 80+ creative industry and corporate marketing professionals Feature Presentation: Tom Merritt and Mike Pereyo, co-founders and co-CEOs, OOBE
By AMANDA LONG Senior Account Director, Hughes Agency
Many people have heard the OOBE story. Two friends who met at Clemson University founded an outdoor apparel company out of an old body shop in Easley without knowing a thing about making Tom Merritt (left) and Mike Pereyo (right) began their business at an old body shop in Easley 23 years ago. clothes. Through tenacity and divine intervention, Now, their new line, OOBE Brand 161 King Street, will be sold through Bloomingdale’s in stores and online. co-founders Tom Merritt and Mike Pereyo took OOBE from selling 40 T-shirts at a time to managing major employee-branded apparel programs for companies like Verizon and Disney. At Endeavor’s monthly proBe the favorite fessional development speaker series, the pair shared key takeaways from their OOBE’s vision statement is “to be the favorite company of our customers, embrand’s 23-year journey — from humble beginnings and detours to major wins that ployees, and vendor partners by living our core values.” “As the complexity of your led them to today. business grows, in the absence of information, what do you look to? Be the favorite — to each other first. If you can’t do it inside your organization, you certainly can’t Desperation can lead to breakthroughs do it outside,” Pereyo said. “Just as important as being the favorite of the people who Author J.K. Rowling wrote, “Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” write you checks is being the favorite of those who you write checks to. It’s loving During desperate times, Merritt broke out from calling on outdoor stores to calling the people who came alongside us. They will be the ones to set you up for success.” on dive shops. Their T-shirts that read, “I dive. What on Earth are you doing?” became such a hit that Merritt and Pereyo took a chance and exhibited at the InA jumping off point. And another. ternational Dive Show, which pushed them through the next decade. “We wrote six In February, the team unveiled OOBE Brand 161 King Street, a retail store in figures in one show, which provided us the opportunity to continue to fuel OOBE,” Charleston featuring a small-batch, highly crafted men’s clothing line and accessoPereyo said. ries. “It’s all about story. It’s about sourcing and who makes that shirt,” Merritt said. Merritt announced for the first time that the creation of OOBE Brand 161 King Your reputation really does proceed you Street spurred Bloomingdale’s to seek them out to sell the new line in stores and When the CEO of FILA asked OOBE to relaunch their golf collection worldwide, online, another milestone for the company. “We’re still trying to figure out where they thought it was a joke. However, his call was based on the recommendation this brand lands,” Merritt said. “We will see where it goes. It wasn’t anything we from a former OOBE client, stating he would be able to sleep well at night if he did were looking for. We were just trying to be excellent.” business with them. “We were seen as being trustworthy. All these other brands started contacting us to utilize our supply chain and designers when they launched. Endeavor, a creative, collaborative coworking community, presents a monthly professional It was a very exciting time and allowed us to get our footing and determine what development speaker series called Collaborators & Cocktails, where marketing chiefs from we are the best in the world in,” Pereyo said. brands like Southwest Airlines, Ritz Carlton, and Nike share their marketing strategies.
Why doing the right thing is always the right thing When going up against major companies to vie for Chick-fil-A’s branded apparel business, the process was intentionally very stressful. Following the presentation, models hired by Chick-fil-A to showcase each competitor’s merchandise were asked which company treated them with honor, dignity, and respect when no one was looking. Hands down, the models chose OOBE. Then Chick-fil-A did, too. This catalyst moment opened doors for OOBE. “They aren’t just entrusting their brand with us. They are entrusting their people with us,” Pereyo said. “This was where we started to get a real footing for a blueprint for OOBE … and defining our purpose.”
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UBJ | 9.29.2017
ENGAGE OCT
18
Collaborators & Cocktails Presentation by David Oakley, co-founder and chief creative officer, BooneOakley
Sept. 18, 5–7:15 PM Members: Free | Pre-registered Guests: $30 Endeavor@EndeavorGreenville.com
PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS / NEWS FACES OF BUSINESS
HIRED
APPOINTED
HIRED
| ON THE MOVE / NEW TO THE STREET
HIRED
HIRED
BETH THOMASON
RANDY PAGE
JOHN BAUKNIGHT
SCOTT BIRKNER
TAVERAS CHANDLER
Joined the Spinx Co. as its director of marketing and advertising. Thomason most recently operated independent public relations and marketing firm Thomason PR. She earned the accredited public relations professional (APR) designation in 2002, and she serves on the board of the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America (SCPRSA). She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications.
Appointed to the newly created position of Bob Jones University chief of staff. Page is responsible for advising the president and overseeing the president’s priority projects. Page will retain his public relations and government relations responsibilities and will serve on the President’s Cabinet. Prior to coming to BJU in 2013, Page served as president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, and also served as director of public events for Gov. David Beasley, legislative director for Lt. Governor Bob Peeler, and chief of staff to Lt. Governor Andre Bauer.
Joined NAI Earle Furman’s Spartanburg team of brokers. He is the president and co-founder of the Spartanburg-based investment firm Longleaf Holdings USA. In 2007, Bauknight acquired RJ Rockers Brewing Co. He remains heavily involved in Spartanburg County’s entrepreneurial community, including helping to launch the Spartanburg Angel Network.
Joined United Community Bank as senior vice president – manager, craft beverage lending. Birkner has an extensive background in government-guaranteed lending and will focus his efforts on United’s craft beverage lending industry team. Most recently, Birkner served as vice president for Yadkin Small Business Lending in the Government Guaranteed Lending Division of Yadkin Bank, focusing on the craft beverage industry.
Joined Jackson Marketing, Motorsports & Events as warehouse assistant manager. Before joining Jackson, Chandler was warehouse manager and freight coordinator for the National Service Center, where he reduced freight costs by $800,000 over a two-year period. A graduate of South Carolina State University with a degree in computer science, Chandler also serves as an assistant football coach and assistant track and field coach at JL Mann High School.
BANKING Stefanie Norman has joined CresCom Bank as an item-processing specialist. Previously, Norman worked as a collections loss mitigation specialist at TD Bank. Norman holds a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications from the University of South Carolina Upstate.
CONSTRUCTION Dillard-Jones Builders LLC recently hired Rod Rucker as senior project manager and Nichole Woodard as director of finance. Rucker comes to Dil-
Open for business
lard-Jones Builders with 17 years of extensive experience and knowledge in luxury home building. Woodard joins the Dillard-Jones team full-time as director of finance after holding the position of interim controller during summer 2017. Woodard is a graduate of College of Charleston and previously provided financial consulting for a variety of industries. CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions, & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
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3
1
Photos provided
1. Panda Express is now open at 1102 Woodruff Road, Greenville. Learn more at pandaexpress.com.
2. Caesars Mediterranean Grill at 1099 East Butler Road, Mauldin, recently celebrated its grand opening with Mauldin community leaders. Learn more at facebook.com/Caesars-Mediterranean-Grill.
3. Denny’s at 2521 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, celebrated their reopening following extensive renovations. Learn more at dennys.com.
CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon? Email information to aturner@communityjournals.com. 9.29.2017 | upstatebusinessjournal.com
25
#TRENDING |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
THE WATERCOOLER Social Chatter
RE: MAPLE STREET BISCUIT COMPANY OPENS FIRST OF TWO GREENVILLE-AREA STORES “Oh my goodness, this looks delicious!” Reagan Burress
RE: FROM THE GREENVILLE JOURNAL - HOW A STORMWATER ORDINANCE IS PREVENTING PETE’S ORIGINAL TOO FROM BEING REBUILT
“I LOVE THIS PLACE!” Neely Ferrell Myers
“The prior building stood for 50-plus years. No legitimate reason to deny him the permit.” BillyandRobin Jones Durham
RE: STONER’S PIZZA JOINT WILL OPEN FIRST UPSTATE STORE IN DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG “So I suppose the po-po will know where to find the stoners.” Scott Lees
RE: COFFEE SHOP/CREAMERY SPILL THE BEANS WILL OPEN IN DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG “I remember back when they had a location on Woodruff Road. That building isn’t even there anymore!” Amber Guffey
“Archaic-minded rules keeping a Greenville original from doing what they do best. Give the people what they want and allow an entrepreneur take what they consider a reasonable risk.” Jim Cavanos
ER 22 , 2017
RE: THE FARMER’S TABLE EXPANDING TO LARGER SPACE IN DOWNTOWN SPARTANBURG “Woohoo! Our favorite breakfast spot.” Eric Mack
E 38 | VOL. 6 ISSU
SEPTEMB
TOP 5:
DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE
The layout of print meets the convenience of the Web. Flip through the digital editions of any of our print issues, and see them all in one place. upstatebusinessjournal.com/ past-issues
1. The Farmer’s Table expanding to larger space in downtown Spartanburg
2. Zaxby’s coming to Roebuck
ners n i W d r Awa
asserman ash Geoff W eader’s ber throw a bt L d n ra The B e S.C. Chamto State’s bes and thr the Palmet DE // fo ALSO INSI
ADER BORN LE H OF THE s TAKE FLIGHT THE MYT F-16 E PORT TH G IN DEEPEN 9/19/17
Photo by
3. Maple Street Biscuit Company opens first of two Greenville-area stores
Will Cro
.ubj.indd
2017.09.22
6:15 PM
oks
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GET THE INBOX 4. CitiSculpt submits plans for hotel, multifamily project at Agfa site
CONNECT We’re great at networking. 5. How one Greenville entrepreneur is helping Navy SEALs find jobs back home
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*The Top 5 stories from last week’s issue ranked by page views
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EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR
| PLANNER
DATE
EVENT INFO
WHERE DO I GO?
HOW DO I GO?
Thursday
Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s BBQ Bash/Manufacturers Celebration
Greenville Technical College Center for Manufacturing Innovation 575 Millenium Blvd. 5:30–8:30 p.m.
Cost: $45 investors, $105 general For more info: bit.ly/2xDikVN; 864-239-3714; hhyatt@greenvillechamber.org
Thursday
Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s Workforce Forum and Re-entry Job Fair
TD Convention Center 1 Exposition Drive 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Cost: $45 investors, $60 general For more info: bit.ly/2f0Dzfz; 864-239-3748; kbusbee@greenvillechamber.org
Tuesday
10/17
Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity & Inclusion Summit
TD Convention Center 1 Exposition Drive 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Cost: $100 investors, $125 general admission For more info: bit.ly/2uDPySZ; nwhite@greenvillechamber.org
Wednesday
10/18
Endeavor’s Collaborators & Cocktails
Endeavor 1 N. Main St., 4th floor 5–7:15 p.m.
Cost: Free for members, $30 for preregistered guests. No walk-ins. For more info: Endeavor@EndeavorGreenville.com
Saturday
MARKETING & ADVERTISING VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES
10/21
Piedmont SCORE‘s Comprehensive Small-Business Startup
Greenville County Library, Hughes Main Branch 25 Heritage Green Place 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Cost: $39, $15 students For more info: bit.ly/2fpcoI4
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Wednesday
10/25
Upstate Business Journal’s Business on Tap
Stella’s Southern Brasserie 340 Rocky Slope Road 5:30–7 p.m.
Cost: Free
ART & PRODUCTION VISUAL DIRECTOR
Tuesday
Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Leadership Symposium
TD Convention Center 1 Exposition Drive 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Cost: $35 investors, $50 noninvestors For more info: bit.ly/2sUsFdd; 864-239-3727; nwhite@greenvillechamber.org
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Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com
UBJ PUBLISHER
Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com
10/5 10/12
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STAFF WRITERS
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David Rich drich@communityjournals.com
John Clark, Maria Hall, Donna Johnston, Stephanie King, Rosie Peck, Caroline Spivey, Emily Yepes
Will Crooks
LAYOUT
11/14
Bo Leslie | Tammy Smith
OPERATIONS Holly Hardin
ADVERTISING DESIGN
Kristy Adair | Michael Allen
CLIENT SERVICES
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UP NEXT
IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF UBJ? WANT A COPY FOR YOUR LOBBY?
OCTOBER 13 THE DESIGN ISSUE
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
UBJ milestone
UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Kristi Fortner
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE STORY IDEAS:
1988
>>
NOVEMBER 3 CRE ISSUE
Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff
Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.
events@upstatebusinessjournal.com
NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS, AND AWARDS:
Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during
Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood. He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980. In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he
learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage. In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar. “Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said. Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders
>>
with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.” In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.” Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning. The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet. Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s
AS SEEN IN
Got any thoughts? Care to contribute? Let us know at ideas@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space
1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court
also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design. Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series. “In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.” Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept
2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003
2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running
him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-prof non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award. The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family. As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business. “From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.” Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”
2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people
2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award
pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School
CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in olV inV olVe VeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board,
Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board
eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board
November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21
20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013
ideas@upstatebusinessjournal.com
EVENTS:
1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993
1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.
NOVEMBER 1, 2013
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Copyright ©2017 BY COMMUNITY JOURNALS LLC. All rights reserved. Upstate Business Journal is published weekly by Community Journals LLC. 581 Perry Ave., Greenville, South Carolina, 29611. Upstate Business Journal is a free publication. Annual subscriptions (52 issues) can be purchased for $50. Postmaster: Send address changes to Upstate Business, P581 Perry Ave., Greenville, South Carolina, 29611. Printed in the USA.
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A STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS & COMMUNITY PROSPERITY
O CTO B E R 17, 2 017 • 9 AM -6PM T D C O N V E NTIO N C E NTE R • GRE E NVILLE , SC SUMMIT FACILITATORS
Viewing diversity and inclusion as a leadership function is vital for professional and personal development. Years of experience have taught us that a diverse, inclusive workplace and society doesn’t just happen, it requires intentionality and hard work. Enhance your leadership by taking advantage of this opportunity to become more intentional in how diversity and inclusion is understood and practiced at both the individual and organizational level.
Breakfast Keynote
Luncheon Keynote
Dr. Atira Charles
Bill Proudman
CEO Think Actuality, LLC
Silas Carter
Dr. Stephanie Cooper-Lewter
Kristin Meyer
CEO & Founder White Men As Full Diversity Partners
Dr. Idella Glenn
Jonathan Parker
Dr. Rebecca Heiss
Darrick Paul
Simma Lieberman
Dr. Myriam Torres
REGISTRATION: $100 Greenville Chamber Investors / $125 General Admission (Includes breakfast, lunch, 3 out of 9 workshops to select from, & LEVERAGE. LAUNCH. LEAD. Networking Reception)
To register and view full listing of session descriptions and speaker bios visit greenvillechamber.org, or contact Nika White at 864-239-3727 or nikawhiteconsulting@greenvillechamber.org.
The Greenville Chamber is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SC.
The use of this seal confirms that this activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.
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