Author Archives: Justine88

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Retailers continue to struggle with no saving grace in sight

Tampa Bay Times, April 14, 2017

By Justine Griffin

I’ve written the phrase “it’s been a tough year for retail” more times than I can remember.

 

Not to sound redundant, but yeah, it’s been a very tough year for retail. And it’s only April.

Retail jobs fell by 30,000 in March, more than any other industry sector, according to the most recent U.S. jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Macy’s announced it would close more stores, including the one that recently shuttered at University Mall in Tampa. The Sears department store closed at Tyrone Square Mall after nearly 50 years of operating there to make room for a future Lucky’s Market and Dick’s Sporting Goods. And with debt piling up, the future of what was once a household brand name, Sears, is as uncertain as ever.

Nine retailers have filed for bankruptcy so far this year — as many as in all of 2016. Sports Authority, Payless Shoe Source, hhgregg, The Limited and Wet Seal, are among those we saw disappear in Tampa Bay. Even the analysts, who have mostly been upbeat about the evolution of retail at least in the six years I’ve been writing about it in Florida, seem grim about the future.

Read more here.

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Tampa Bay Times: Could you lose your job for testing positive for marijuana if you’re a patient in Florida? Maybe

By Justine Griffin

As Florida legislators consider passing laws this year to regulate the new and growing medical marijuana industry, employers in the state are still faced with mounting grey areas in how to handle employment policies related to drug use.

There are more questions than answers for companies big and small, which enforce a drug-free workplace policy with their employees, said Greg Hearing, a shareholder with the Thompson, Sizemore, Gonzalez & Hearing law firm in Tampa. Hearing, who specializes in employment law, published an article in the Florida Bar Journal last month with his associate, Michael Balducci, outlining what employers need to know.

“This is a lawyer’s dream,” said Hearing during an interview with the Tampa Bay Times at the firm’s downtown Tampa office. “Employers in the private sector will have more ability to enforce drug-free policies and no drugs in the workplace. But still, there’s not much they can do until the laws change. Technically marijuana is still illegal under federal law.”

The Times sat down with Hearing to learn more.

Read more here.

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It may be legal now, but opening a medical marijuana store in Florida is harder than you think

By Justine Griffin, Tampa Bay Times, March 3, 2017

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TAMPA — The Surterra Therapeutics storefront on Fowler Avenue doesn’t look like the kind of place where people can buy pot.

There’s no green marijuana leaves lit in neon lights nor blacked-out windows. No security guard is checking IDs at the front door. Visitors don’t have to be escorted into another room to see the product.

And that’s on purpose.

As one of seven select companies licensed to grow, manufacture, distribute and sell marijuana in Florida, Surterra Holdings Inc. executives are used to explaining that they’re not in business to be another smoke shop. But that’s tough to do when even the bank lenders, real estate brokers, landlords and insurance agents are wary of doing business with them.

“We’re trying to change the stigma,” said Monica Russell, a spokeswoman for Surterra, who noted even securing insurance for the company’s fleet of delivery trucks has been a challenge. “We want people to come here so they can have a conversation and see we’re actually a health and wellness company.”

Marijuana is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level, despite the 28 states that have legalized it for recreational or medicinal use in recent years. That makes it nearly impossible for banks to fund marijuana distributing companies, which in turn makes it hard to sign a lease for a commercial store or warehouse.

Read more here.

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Busch Gardens new president faces headwinds in amusement park industry

By Justine Griffin, Tampa Bay Times, March 1, 2017

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TAMPA — After spending more than 30 years working at SeaWorld Entertainment parks across the country, Busch Gardens’ newest park president, Stewart Clark, still wasn’t prepared for the backlash he and his family faced after the release of the documentary, Blackfish.

Clark’s wife, Kelly Flaherty Clark, a longtime animal trainer and spokeswoman at SeaWorld, was prominently featured defending SeaWorld in the documentary from 2013, which explored the controversy over captive killer whales and the death of a SeaWorld trainer.

“There were several very personal and demented attacks on my family,” said Clark, who left his role as vice president of Discovery Cove to become park president of Busch Gardens and Adventure Island in Tampa on Jan. 16. “I told my kids this then and still tell them to this day: Hundreds of thousands of people come to our parks on any given day. They are the quiet supporters who don’t want to engage in a fight on Twitter, but they’re seeing first hand the great conservation and educational work we do.”

Clark, 52, doesn’t have much time to look back. He has a challenging path ahead — in helping bolster both Busch Gardens and his parent company. SeaWorld Entertainment, which operates Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, has struggled financially in recent years. Attendance has dropped significantly at SeaWorld Entertainment’s Florida parks — down 547,000 visitors in 2016 — company officials said during an earnings call earlier this week.

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Why would these two St. Petersburg entrepreneurs want to open a used bookstore in the Internet age?

By Justine Griffin, Tampa Bay Times, Feb. 17, 2017

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ST. PETERSBURG —The age of Amazon and online shopping has left a litany of retail casualties in its wake.

Bookstores in particular have been hit hard by online marketplaces where shoppers can virtually find any book they want and have it shipped to their home with just a few clicks of the mouse.

But that doesn’t deter Tim Russell and Bobby Hauske, who are about to open a used bookstore in Tyrone Square Mall next month.

“We have to live in Amazon’s world,” said Russell, a Florida native and businessman. “They’re putting their competitors out of business so they can open up their own bookstores now.”

Like online bookstore kingpin Amazon, Russell and Hauske are reversing the pattern of most businesses, starting with a thriving online-only business that leads to a brick-and-mortars operation.

The two plan to open 321 Books inside the former Gap store at the mall in St. Petersburg the first week of March. They will stock the shelves they bought from the recently closed Sears department store at Tyrone with 100,000 used books. Hardcover books will sell for $3. Soft covers are $2. Everything else, like CDs, DVDs and audio books, will be priced at $1 each.

Rent isn’t cheap and the price point of their product is low. It might sound like a risky business. But Russell and Hauske are confident given the success they’ve already had selling thousands of used books online.

Read more here.