Richmonders have knocked $256,000 off their gasoline bill by swiping their Ukrop’s member cards at Uppy’s gas stations. Las month, Ukrops and Uppy’s launched a joint promotion last month called fuelperks!. BizSense reported it here. For every $50 spent on groceries at Ukrop’s, customers get 10 cents off each gallon of gas at Uppy’s. If… Read more »
Aaron Kremer
Aaron Kremer is the founder of Richmond BizSense. Email him at [email protected].
Business loans harder to get
Bankers are taking longer to issue business loans and asking for more collateral when they do issue them, according to bankers around Richmond. Even companies with solid credit and long-established relationships are having more trouble getting financing, which is an essential ingredient for growth. The number of loan requests, meanwhile, is also falling. “Entrepreneurs feel… Read more »
CFO and CAO leave S&K
Long-time S&K Menswear CFO Bob Knowles has left the company. Controller and Senior Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer Janet L. Jorgensen has also left the company. Knowles was with the company for more than 25 years. S&K announced last week that it was cutting 50 local jobs. CEO Joseph Oliver could not be reached… Read more »
Booted from Craigslist: Oldest profession needs to find new ways to market
Richmond’s call girls and their customers are no longer using Craigslist as a virtual bulletin board to arrange business. The popular website has a new warning, “Human trafficking and exploitations of minors are not tolerated – any suspected activity will be reported to law enforcement.” Postings about intimate nights for sale are getting flagged and… Read more »
Gas station asks customers to pay with cash
High gas prices are squeezing the gas stations, too – in particular, the rapidly rising credit-card fees, which can run around 3% of the total cost. When gas was $2 a gallon, that meant a charge of 6 cents per gallon to the gas station for the convenience of processing the transaction. Now that’s up… Read more »
Most promising startups in Richmond?
The search is on to find the most promising startups in the Richmond area. The fourth annual Greater Companies to Watch series is now accepting nominations on its freshly-launched website. The winners will be announced on October 29 at a celebration at Toad’s Place, and will then be featured in a widely read brochure.
Locked and loaded (with a staple gun and flyers)
While waiting for my coffee one morning at the Starbucks in the Fan, I noticed a bulletin board on the wall with a handful of posters and flyers hung up for different events. A few rough drafts later BizSense had an 8×10 pull-tab flyer (you know, the ones where you tear the little piece of… Read more »
Handmade Soaps to Clean up Main Street
A transplanted couple from Arizona wants to cleanup a block of East Main Street – by making and selling soap in a formerly dilapidated store. Michael and Sharon Walsh started making soap 18 years ago after receiving a how-to book as a gag gift. “The book was horrible. I was forced to find a way… Read more »
Starbucks closing 5 VA stores…none in Richmond
Starbucks announced the locations of the first round of store closings, and none are in Richmond. Five are in Virginia. The Seattle-based company will close 600 stores nationwide. Last week BizSense reported that baristas at three different locations said their managers told them that the Richmond locations are not on the chopping block. Many said… Read more »
This Bud’s for Belgium
By now you’ve likely heard about Belgian brewer InBev’s successful takeover of Anheuser-Busch. How this deal will affect local businesses is still unknown, but two sectors that will likely experience the effects come directly to mind: local distributors who sell Anheuser-Busch products, and local properties owned by the brewing giant including Busch Gardens and Kings… Read more »