Posted on 05/13/2014 5:18:06 PM PDT by Olog-hai
One Queens-based e-commerce startup is poised to grow aggressively over the next few years, and has found just the place to do it: Ohio.
Gwynnie Bee, a subscription service for the lease and sale of plus-size women’s apparel, reportedly plans to add 400 new positions over the next few years at a new 100,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility on the outskirts of Columbus. The company’s executive and marketing operations will remain in New York City, where Gwynnie Bee will still be officially headquartered, but the 42 warehouse and distribution workers at the company’s current Long Island City warehouse will be laid off in July.
“Ohio was very aggressive in luring us there,” Gwynnie Bee’s vice president of operations, Robert Escobar, told Crain’s. “And logistically, Columbus has a much wider reach across the country in terms of distribution.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at crainsnewyork.com ...
How much better is Ohio?
Don’t take much to be better than NY.
you mean they don’t believe the new York tv commercials that tell us how great it is to do business in the “new” new York?
For a business like this, logistics are key.
I believe there are more people living within a 10-11 hour drive (an important figure that roughly correlates to a one-day drive for the trucking industry) of Columbus than any other major city in North America. That's a big reason why it's become one of the biggest warehousing and logistics hubs in the U.S.
Ohio? And this is good?
That "tax incentive" program is nothing but a legalized version of a bait and switch scam.
Approximately 50% of the US population lives within a 500 mile radius of Columbus, OH
The center of population of U.S. population is in Plato, Missouri, near 37.52°N 92.17°W.
Ohio is far more amenable to business than New York has been in decades. The anti-business atmosphere in New York is palpably toxic.
The advantages of the midwest are growing with the spread of RTW even if it isn’t in Ohio. As you said there’s trucking to take into account with the Canadian manufacturing center nearby.
Mahindra is opening a factory engineering and development center over near Ann Arbor
Gee, De Blasio is sure a boon for NYers:)
Not so much for Ohio though.
As they will say in Ohio...’oh, hi! oh:(’
Those commercials are crazy.. They never talk about the small print- any tax advantage is only good for ten years and then you and your business must bend over like the rest of the New Yorkers....
The "center of population" for the entire country isn't nearly as important as the population within a traditional distribution radius of 10-11 hours. I suspect very few major shippers do any distribution west of the Rockies from points as far east as the Mississippi.
Also ... if you add Canada's population to the mix and see how the "center of population" moves northward and eastward. That's why there are more distribution/logistics centers in Columbus, Ohio than in Plato, Missouri.
Ohio? That’s like jumping from the fire onto the frying pan.Better that they move to Georgia of Tennessee.
How big are their sails?
You are spot on. My husband is in the distribution business, and Columbus is a major hub.
The real reason is the proximity to Limited Brands (LB.com)corporate headquarters in Columbus, OH.
LB owns Victoria’s Secret and other women’s brands. They used to own Lane Bryant but spun them off a decade ago. They don’t have a brand for Plus size women currently.
I presume this Gwynnie Bee is thinking ahead and looking for a potential buyout at a future stage.
Undocumented seamstresses
And good logistics should lower the cost of doing business. I don't know what the tolls are in Ohio, but in the NYC area, the bridge tolls are a profit killer for a company that relies upon 18-wheelers to move inventory and merchandise. The business that is moving to Ohio currently operates out of Long Island City in Queens, NY. Every 18 wheel truck heading into Long Island City from the south or west must cross at least two bridges at a cost of ~$50 to $85 for each bridge depending upon time of day and method of payment. Trucks traveling from or to the north or northeast have one bridge at ~$53 to $80 round trip. Multiply that by 100s of trucks per year and that's a lot of money for a start-up business to absorb.
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