July 2020 issue of In Business Magazine

A CANDID FORUM

Black- and Woman-Owned: Business in the Shadow of COVID-19 Creating opportunity

by RaeAnne Marsh

Building their businesses here in Phoenix, these two black women business owners had little in common — until the COVID-19 pandemic wrought disruption indiscriminately throughout the economy and put us all in the same boat.

Retail is commonly acknowledged to be the hardest-hit sector. As a concessionaire with gift stores in airport terminals, Lachele Mangum’s retail enterprise is tied to travel, which piles on additional challenge.

“The way airports work now, they’re like malls. It’s a shopping experience,” Mangum says. “You’re not just traveling but spending a little more dwell time in the airport so you can have time to shop. And there’s some great shopping, great restaurants, great places to purchase wonderful gifts.” PreCOVID, she means.

The owner of concession stands in terminals 3 and 4 — where, she says, more than 98 percent of locations are closed — and terminals 1 and 2 at San Diego, Mangum says, “It’s probably going to take us a couple of years to get back to 2019 numbers. It’s going to take some time for travelers to regain their confidence and start traveling again. Experts in the aviation industry are estimating it’s going to take a couple of years. Possibly even 2023. It’s going to be a slow climb back.” She points to the airport’s efforts in providing signage for people to wear their protective gear as one way to build up travelers’ confidence.

Rebuilding travelers’ confidence may be the biggest challenge, but it’s not the only one. Says Mangum, “It’s tough right now. There’s a challenge from supply chain because trucks aren’t supplying the way that they did pre-COVID, so getting supplies when you need them is definitely a challenge.

From employee standpoint, the unemployment people are getting makes it difficult to get them to come back to work.

I think that will change when unemployment is up. That will probably make it a little easier to get workers. I’ve tried to get people to come back to work, and many have said they’d rather wait until their unemployment is done.”

Realizing it’s also important they feel safe coming to work, she has hand-sanitizer stations withing the stores, installed guards at the counter, supplied employees with face masks and hand sanitizer, and is providing time for them to wash their hands.

And of course, debt service has to be paid whether the business is open or not. “So far, the bank is working with us,” Mangum says. “But how long can the bank work with us? We don’t know.”

Getting a bank to work with her was part of the challenge launching her business. The Airport Concessionaires Disadvantaged Business Entity program, established in 1987 to level the playing field for minority- and woman-owned businesses to get into airport concessions, helped open the

TINA MARIE EAVES Owner and Operator Alterations and Creations 214 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix (602) 277-9952

LACHELE MANGUM

"I've been established here for so long. I've been in business for 31 years. … This is a very inclusive area."

—Tina Marie Eaves

Lachele Mangum was one of the first black women to own a concession at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

President and CEO LAM Holdings 4960 S. Gilbert Rd., Chandler linkedin.com/in/lachelemangum-mba-0984386b

JULY 57 2020 INBUSINESSPHX.COM