Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, April 3, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 100 • One Section
35¢
www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Growth in the air
Local Lyft, Uber bills on hold for state Legislature also tackling issue
Uber... Continued
on
Page A-4
The interior of an InMotion Entertainment Group airport location. The company is based in Jacksonville.
InMotion Entertainment Group sales may top $135M
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
City Council members for months have wrestled with how to regulate ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Those efforts, though, are on hold until the state Legislature takes a crack at the problem. “It’s basically all in limbo now,” said council member Stephen Joost. In late 2014, Joost and others held a series of meetings with taxi companies and ride-sharing representatives about issues in the industry. Taxi groups have said the smartphone-based operators have an unfair advantage and don’t follow the same rules they do. Representatives from UberX and Lyft claim their practices are safe and reliable and aren’t the same thing as taxis. Joost filed a bill that would have cracked down on companies that don’t comply with local laws, penalties that include fines and cars being impounded. Local Joost laws require city inspections, background checks and permits. The ride-sharing companies do their own. Joost’s bill has stalled, as it’s been deferred for months while state lawmakers talk insurance requirements and regulations. “It’s not going to do us any good if the state comes in and trumps it all,” he said. Matt Schellenberg agrees, but said he’s a great believer in home rule. Last month, Schellenberg filed a bill that carves out a new section in the vehiclefor-hire laws. It creates “transportation network companies” for businesses like Uber and Lyft and establishes a framework of regulations. “I think that’s the direction in which the industry is going,” he said. “It’s a completely separate industry … and it needs to be dealt with that way.” Despite the effort, it also has been deferred as state legislators continue to talk.
Photo courtesy of InMotion Entertainment
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Jeremy Smith, president and CEO, and Tom Hurd, executive vice president, of InMotion Entertainment Group at the Jacksonville-based company’s Southside headquarters.
You rush to the airport, only to discover you left your smartphone charger on the nightstand. Panic sets in about the battery drain. How will you catch up on those emails? Write that report? Check that research? Heck, play those games? A Jacksonville-based company recognizes your frustration — and is ready on the passenger concourse to sell you what you need. And more. InMotion Entertainment Group LLC sells chargers as well as headphones, speakers, tablets, portable power and, as it advertises, “everything you need for your flight, or just for fun.” It has 93 locations in 39 airports, with plans to acquire 29 more sites in 15 airports across the country.
It plans more growth nationally –– through additional locations and the acquisition of competitors — and its owners see international expansion down the road. Translated into sales, InMotion expects to reach more than $135 million in revenue in 2015 and more than $200 million within a few years. Yet it’s not a high-profile corporate citizen. InMotion... Continued on Page A-2
Retailer offers to replace love locks, help with display By Max Marbut Staff Writer Never underestimate the power of love. Or the power of love locks. After the story in Tuesday’s Daily Record about the city cutting about 30 love locks off a fence along the Northbank Riverwalk hit the Internet, Love Locks Inc. founder Debbie Peysar recognized the lock in the photo as being one of hers. “We engraved that one for that couple,” she said Thursday
Public
when she called to say her company is offering to replace, free of charge, all of the locks that were removed. Peysar started the company and its website, lovelocksonline. com, five years ago when she was a wedding planner. She read about the European tradition of couples attaching personalized padlocks to bridges and other structures as a symbol of their commitment and decided to bring the custom to America. The company, based in Hurricane, Utah, now offers a line of
legal notices begin on page
A-10
products based on the love lock Peysar designed specifically for the use. The locks weigh 2 ounces, significantly less than a lock purchased in a hardware store, which heads off one of the concerns about the tradition: adding excess weight to a structure. What started as an idea five years ago has turned into quite a business. Peysar has opened offices in the United Kingdom and Australia. While she wouldn’t divulge sales figures, the company
engraves and ships “thousands and thousands of locks each year,” she said. The other concern about love locks is the litter and pollution aspect of tossing the keys into a waterway after the lock is secured. Peysar’s proprietary design has no key. After the shackle is closed, it’s permanently placed — unless, as we know from local experience — someone decides to cut it off and remove it. “We want to be clean and environmentally friendly,” she said.
Published
for
26,627
Another part of the business is designing displays dedicated to love locks. Peysar said she has helped many cities, national and state parks and resorts install the displays. She has contacted the Parks, Recreation and Community Development Department and offered her assistance as the city moves forward in identifying a location or locations to restore the opportunity. According to Pam Roman, parks department spokeswoman Locks... Continued on Page A-4
consecutive weekdays