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Queens startup to grow by 400, move to Ohio (bye NYC; hello Columbus)
Crain’s ^ | May 13, 2014 1:24 p.m. | Thornton McEnery

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 ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: New York; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: columbus; gwynniebee; longislandcity; queens
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1 posted on 05/13/2014 5:18:06 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

How much better is Ohio?


2 posted on 05/13/2014 5:20:18 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: GeronL

Don’t take much to be better than NY.


3 posted on 05/13/2014 5:21:12 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin.)
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To: All

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?


4 posted on 05/13/2014 5:22:09 PM PDT by willywill
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To: Olog-hai

For a business like this, logistics are key.


5 posted on 05/13/2014 5:24:41 PM PDT by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
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To: GeronL
Look at the comment about the location of Columbus. That's probably a much bigger factor than most people realize.

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.

6 posted on 05/13/2014 5:25:19 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?")
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To: Olog-hai

Ohio? And this is good?


7 posted on 05/13/2014 5:34:43 PM PDT by PistolPaknMama
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To: willywill
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?

That "tax incentive" program is nothing but a legalized version of a bait and switch scam.

8 posted on 05/13/2014 5:35:29 PM PDT by Thunder90 (All posts soley represent my own opinion.)
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To: Olog-hai

Approximately 50% of the US population lives within a 500 mile radius of Columbus, OH


9 posted on 05/13/2014 5:35:50 PM PDT by deport
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To: Alberta's Child

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.


10 posted on 05/13/2014 5:41:19 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (This is known as "bad luck". - Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: Alberta's Child

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


11 posted on 05/13/2014 5:41:23 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin.)
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To: Olog-hai

Gee, De Blasio is sure a boon for NYers:)

Not so much for Ohio though.

As they will say in Ohio...’oh, hi! oh:(’


12 posted on 05/13/2014 5:42:49 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: willywill

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....


13 posted on 05/13/2014 5:46:15 PM PDT by Reddy (bo stinks)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
The center of population of U.S. population is in Plato, Missouri, near 37.52°N 92.17°W.

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.

14 posted on 05/13/2014 5:48:21 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?")
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To: Olog-hai

Ohio? That’s like jumping from the fire onto the frying pan.Better that they move to Georgia of Tennessee.


15 posted on 05/13/2014 6:15:28 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Rat Party Policy:Lie,Deny,Refuse To Comply)
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To: Olog-hai

How big are their sails?


16 posted on 05/13/2014 6:34:59 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: Alberta's Child

You are spot on. My husband is in the distribution business, and Columbus is a major hub.


17 posted on 05/13/2014 6:36:10 PM PDT by FamiliarFace
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To: Olog-hai

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.


18 posted on 05/13/2014 6:39:46 PM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Olog-hai

Undocumented seamstresses


19 posted on 05/13/2014 6:55:27 PM PDT by Insigne123 (It is the soldier, not the community organizer, who gives us freedom of the press)
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To: bigbob
For a business like this, logistics are key.

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.

20 posted on 05/13/2014 7:09:30 PM PDT by Labyrinthos
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