Tag Archives: business reporting

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Column: What Sweetbay shoppers need to know

My What’s In Store column from March 4. Published in the Herald-Tribune.

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In less than a month, Southwest Florida residents will see a surge of Winn-Dixie grocery store openings.

 

Sweetbay Supermarket will follow the same path into extinction as its predecessor, Kash N’ Karry.

At the same time, the rechristened Winn-Dixie stores will seek to increase their footprint and compete with dominant grocer giants Publix and Walmart in Florida — and specifically in the Sarasota-Bradenton market.

Last year, Tampa-based Sweetbay was bought by Winn-Dixie’s parent, Bi-Lo Holdings. The $265 million deal included 72 Sweetbay stores in the Sunshine State and the leases for 10 that were closed before the sale.

Sweetbay had closed 33 stores just before the sale, or 30 percent of its operations in Florida, including four stores in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Those stores will stay closed.

But the remaining open stores — 10 in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties — will temporarily close March 22 and reopen March 28 as Winn-Dixies.

So Sweetbay shoppers, here’s what you need to know if you plan on switching over to the Winn-Dixie brand:

Read more here.

 

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Sarasota sports strategy: Just build it

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

Sarasota BMX Park

Photo by Thomas Bender, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

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Sarasota County officials have developed a formula they hope will grow a variety of sports in the region: Build it and they will come.

Following the success of Nathan Benderson Park, once a mining pit used for highway construction and now the site of the 2017 World Rowing Championships, Sarasota County plans to build an Olympic-level supercross BMX track for cyclists at the existing Sarasota BMX Track on Tuttle Avenue and 17th Street.

The 40-year-old park is the longest-standing BMX track in the United States and will soon be one of only two in the country that boasts an Olympic-level supercross track, said Carolyn Brown, Sarasota County’s director of parks and recreation.

“Over the years the park has served thousands of children and adults, but the improvements will allow Sarasota to host a higher level of competition,” Brown said. “More people can stay here and train. The economic impact will be great — these people will use our hotels and possibly even move here.”

The county has allocated $1.7 million, partially funded through tourism development tax dollars, to go toward building the professional-level track, which will run alongside the existing amateur track. The new track requires an 8-meterstarting ramp, compared with the existing 5-meter ramp, and larger obstacles.

Construction is set to begin in October, Brown said, and the new track is expected to be completed by summer 2015. Officials are considering doing the construction in phases, which would allow the track to remain open.

Read the full story here.

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Forging a new path for Robb & Stucky

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

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The return of one of the premier brands in the furniture industry bodes well for the Southwest Florida region, the housing market and the local economy.
Robb & Stucky reopened its store at 7557 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota in early December. And while shoppers may remember the Robb & Stucky name and its upscale line of furniture and home decor merchandise, the chain is now under new ownership and forging a new path in Florida.

This isn’t your grandmother’s Robb & Stucky, said Steve Lush, president and CEO of the new brand.

“There are a lot of misconceptions out there about who we are as a brand,” Lush said. “We offer the same quality customers remember. But we’re under new ownership and management and have more furniture arrangements than ever before that cater to all price points.”

The company’s stores across Florida closed in 2011, including the 68,000-square-foot location in south Sarasota, despite having been one of the top sellers in Southwest Florida just five years earlier.

The brand started making a comeback in 2012 by opening stores in Fort Myers, where the chain is headquartered, and in Naples, before opening its third and largest store in Sarasota.

Read more here.

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Christmas shopping in Sarasota: Holiday retail coverage

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Leland, 15, and her mother Beth McCullagh are Black Friday shopping enthusiasts and are excited to get out to the stores Thursday evening into Friday morning. (November 26, 2013) (Herald-Tribune staff photo by Rachel S. O’Hara)

Editor’s Note: Herald-Tribune reporter Justine Griffin shopped with two Sarasota families this holiday season. She went shopping in Sarasota with Melissa Tomasso, who waited until after Thanksgiving and in Brandon with Beth McCullagh, who hunted for Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving night.

Below are stories I wrote during the holiday season:

Lists handy, shoppers gird for holiday hunt By Justine Griffin. Published: Nov. 26, 2013

Between Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and three weeks of shopping from now to Christmas, shoppers have more options than ever to get all the gifts on their holiday lists.

Southwest Florida moms Melissa Tomasso and Beth McCullagh are two of the 140 million people who are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving weekend — the biggest for shopping of the year. That turnout is down about 5 percent from last year, according to data collected by the National Retail Federation.

With doorbuster deals beginning earlier than ever — in some chain stores as early as 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day — consumers are poised to see some of the best Black Friday discounts in years, experts say.

The Herald-Tribune will follow Tomasso and McCullagh as they hunt down deals, navigate shopping crowds and stores, and ultimately check off items on their holiday gift lists this holiday season.

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Consumes have plans. Merchants have hopes. By Justine Griffin. Published: Nov, 30, 2013

Beth McCullagh and her daughter ran to the entrance of Macy’s — not to be the first in line for doorbuster deals, but to get out of the 50-degree weather.

McCullagh and her daughter are career Black Friday shoppers. Together, they’ve managed the lines, the crowds and the long early-morning hours spent in malls and other shopping plazas. But they have always come home victorious, bearing bags and boxes full of gifts acquired at prices that make friends and family envious.

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After Black Friday, shopping deals still abound By Justine Griffin. Published: Dec. 9, 2013

The tree’s up in the living room and the colorful lights dangle from the roof of the Tomasso family home.

It is early December and Melissa Tomasso, a wife, sister-in-law, daughter, mother of two and a substitute teacher in Sarasota, is eager to wrap up her holiday shopping for friends and family. She is one of the 46.2 percent of Americans who waited to shop until after Thanksgiving, according to data from the National Retail Federation.

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Retailer’s season hasn’t been merry By Justine Griffin. Published: Dec. 23, 2013

While retail stores were busy with the many bargain hunters looking for a last minute deal before the holiday this past weekend, Sarasota shoppers Beth McCullagh and Melissa Tomasso were relaxing at home, their shopping already done for the season.

McCullagh, a dedicated Black Friday shopper who lives with her family in Lakewood Ranch, spent a few days in stores after Black Friday, but wrapped up most of her shopping online. Tomasso, who waited until December to begin shopping for her family who live in Sarasota, shopped online and in stores, but grabbed everything on her list before jetting to New York for a short getaway before Wednesday.

As of Dec. 9, the average American holiday shopper had completed only half of their gift shopping for friends and family, which is slightly less than how much shoppers had completed by that time last year, according to the National Retail Federation. That fact boded well for store chains as they geared up for Super Saturday and the last weekend before Christmas, where retailers offer a final round of marked-down prices in a last-minute effort to purge inventories before the end of the holiday season.

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Shoppers spent less than expected in 2013 By Justine Griffin. Published: Jan. 14, 2014

Melissa Tomasso checked off every item on her children’s holiday wish lists this year, but kept well within her strict budget.

Her daughter Malia, 11, got a Kindle e-reader and MacBook Pro, expensive electronics but tools she uses for school, too. Her son, Jared, 14, also got a Kindle and some new fishing gear.

Every year when the holidays roll around, Melissa and her husband, Chris, who live in Sarasota, come up with a limited spending plan.

“My kids may have gotten all the gifts they wanted this year, but we always stick to our budget,” Tomasso said. “We splurged a little on the kids for electronics, but we were prepared for that.”

That seemed to match a broader sentiment among shoppers clearly evident in spending patterns during the recent holiday season. More consumers spent less than they expected, but only 14 percent said they spent more than expected, reported Bankrate.com, a Palm Beach-based consumer financial firm. Being on a budget was fairly universal: no age group spent more than expected, Bankrate.com data showed.

 

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Column: How to land one of those thousands of seasonal jobs

My “What’s in Store” column from Tuesday, Oct. 8. Published in the Herald-Tribune.

Photo by Justine Griffin for the Sun Sentinel.

Photo by Justine Griffin for the Sun Sentinel.

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The market for seasonal part-time jobs might fall flat this year, but there are opportunities for those looking for a way to make a little extra cash around the holidays. Now’s the time to apply.

Hiring for seasonal retail jobs is expected to be around the same as last year, early predictions show. That means some 700,000 jobs open up across the country.

Locally, thousands of part-time jobs are available at chain stores such as Best Buy, Macy’s, Walmart and Bealls.

And the hiring has already started.

Most employers encourage applicants to apply online through company websites, even for part-time and seasonal work.

Here are some tips to make the job search a little easier.

Read more here.