FLOYD LEE LOCUMS of Charleston
PAGE 4 VOLUME 28 NUMBER 1 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
Part of the
JANUARY 17-30, 2022 ■ $2.25
network
Island spike
Kiawah Island Real Estate records a 299% bump in sales compared to 2019. Page 11
Condo craze
Cane Bay welcomes first multi-family development, The Hudson. Page 9
Stepping up
New Palmetto Goodwill CEO focuses on people and the organization’s impact. Page 6
Movin’ East
Home Team BBQ prepares to open its fourth Lowcountry location. Page 12
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Small Business Spotlight........ 4 In Focus: 2022: The Year Ahead.......... 13 List: Hospitals..................... 19 Bonus List: Urgent Care Centers........... 20 At Work............................... 21 Viewpoint............................23
Turning Tassels Filling a gap in higher education for educators, Charleston Southern University launched a doctoral program, graduating its first cohort in December. Page 8
Members of CSU’s inaugural doctoral program celebrate graduation day. From left to right, April Sanders, Erica Taylor, Shene White, Priscilla Johnson, Arthea Simmons, Quencenia Dantzler, Paula Browne, Amanda Snipe. (Photo/Aneris Photography.)
CEO says ports positioned to navigate uncertainty By Teri Errico Griffis
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tgriffis@scbiznews.com
n April 2020, the S.C. Ports Authority budget called for a 10% reduction in volume as the pandemic rolled across the global supply chain. Jim Newsome, SCPA President and CEO, had no idea if even 1.23 million containers would be achievable, but he couldn’t imagine articulating a 30% reduction — and wasn’t prepared to let go of any employees in such a skill-driven industry. “I was nervous,” he said. Like other CEOs, he had never managed a pandemic before.
Little did Newsome know that the SCPA would soon see record volumes that kept on climbing. He anticipated the port losing nearly 15% of cargo volumes in fiscal year 2021, when in reality numbers rose 10%. Newsome sat down with the Charleston Regional Business Journal to talk about the year that’s past, and more specifically, the year ahead as the country navigates year three of the pandemic.
Retail inventory
Newsome admits the SCPA was late to the game when the agency began focusing on retail in 2020, but coming on board when they
Film commission ready for action
did couldn’t have been more crucial. With the pandemic causing e-commerce to skyrocket, be it gadgets to pass the time, clothing and late-night QVC orders or home furnishings, the port has benefitted from increases in cargo imports. Newsome owed much of that shift to people being forced to stay indoors and avoid traveling, restaurants and group entertainment. While he expects at some point the scales will tip back, e-commerce is here to stay, particularly as inventory to sales ratio remains rather low, he said.
With pent up demand for streaming content, S.C. hopes to expand production opportunities statewide. Page 5
See SC PORTS, Page 10
