Tag Archives: Tampa Bay Times

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Why would these two St. Petersburg entrepreneurs want to open a used bookstore in the Internet age?

By Justine Griffin, Tampa Bay Times, Feb. 17, 2017

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ST. PETERSBURG —The age of Amazon and online shopping has left a litany of retail casualties in its wake.

Bookstores in particular have been hit hard by online marketplaces where shoppers can virtually find any book they want and have it shipped to their home with just a few clicks of the mouse.

But that doesn’t deter Tim Russell and Bobby Hauske, who are about to open a used bookstore in Tyrone Square Mall next month.

“We have to live in Amazon’s world,” said Russell, a Florida native and businessman. “They’re putting their competitors out of business so they can open up their own bookstores now.”

Like online bookstore kingpin Amazon, Russell and Hauske are reversing the pattern of most businesses, starting with a thriving online-only business that leads to a brick-and-mortars operation.

The two plan to open 321 Books inside the former Gap store at the mall in St. Petersburg the first week of March. They will stock the shelves they bought from the recently closed Sears department store at Tyrone with 100,000 used books. Hardcover books will sell for $3. Soft covers are $2. Everything else, like CDs, DVDs and audio books, will be priced at $1 each.

Rent isn’t cheap and the price point of their product is low. It might sound like a risky business. But Russell and Hauske are confident given the success they’ve already had selling thousands of used books online.

Read more here. 

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HSN featured jewelry company accused of cheating its artisans

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Tampa Bay Times, Feb. 5, 2017, A1 

By Justine Griffin

People tuning in to HSN might think they’re supporting a good cause by purchasing a lapis bracelet from Bajalia International Group, an Orlando company that employs female artisans in developing countries like Afghanistan and India.

What shoppers don’t see on their TV screens is the sometimes ruthless business arrangements between Bajalia and its artisans, the company’s history of short-changing its craftswomen or the checkered financial past of the company’s founder and CEO.

On air at HSN, Debbie Farah is portrayed as a savior for women in poor and developing nations who produce the natural gemstone necklaces and beaded bracelets that Farah’s company sells online and on HSN, the popular television retailer based in St. Petersburg.

A follow up story published on March 17, 2017, when HSN dropped Bajalia from its programming. The story was featured on WSTP Ch. 10’s Sunday Conversation.

Read the original investigation here.

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Tampa Bay Times: Tampa International Airport is willing to spend money to make money on international flights

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. October 14, 2016

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Orlando International Airport hasn’t ever had trouble recruiting new flights.

Airliners have been lining up for years to link new cities from around the globe to Disney World, Universal Studios and Central Florida’s other tourism attractions.

But last year, the Orlando airport introduced a financial incentive program meant to help lure new airline business.

The program mimicked what Tampa International Airport instituted more than five years ago, which has helped bring high-profile international flights like nonstop service to Frankfurt, Germany, on Lufthansa and service to Panama City, Panama, on Copa Airlines, to Tampa Bay.

The new incentive program in Orlando ultimately helped the airport draw a nonstop flight to Dubai on international airliner Emirates.

Tampa’s entry into the world of airline incentives didn’t come without controversy: Airport CEO Joe Lopano drew public criticism when he asked for permission to throw money at airlines after he arrived in Tampa in 2011. He eventually got the go-ahead, but it was new terrain for the airport.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Tampa Bay Times: Walmart stores around Tampa Bay found selling expired products, including baby food

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times.

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First came the irritation when Deneen Wyman discovered she had bought expired baby formula at an area Walmart store on Sunday. Then came the added insult when she sought a refund and was sold yet another baby formula that had been outdated since May.

It wasn’t an isolated incident.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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And the follow up story: 

Shoppers in St. Petersburg took to Facebook to express their outrage over finding expired baby formula and other goods at a local Walmart three weeks ago. The post quickly went viral.

The Tampa Bay Times wrote a front page story about it and a local television station covered it.

At the time, Walmart said employees were working fast to fix the problem. They pledged to do better.

For the next three weeks, Tampa Bay Times reporters browsed the aisles of Walmart stores around Tampa Bay looking for more expired goods. We continued to find expired baby formula, sour cream, baby food, supplements and prenatal vitamins at Walmart Supercenters and Walmart Neighborhood Market stores in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties despite the media coverage that revealed the problem at local stores. Dozens of Times readers also wrote and called in with stories and photos about buying expired goods from Walmart stores in Brandon, Brooksville, Wimauma, Clearwater, Ruskin, Sebring and elsewhere.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Tampa Bay Times: How do you transform a downtown like Tampa’s that has such little history?

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. Sept. 23, 2016.

It’s one thing to decide which building goes where when mapping out a new $3 billion district for downtown Tampa. But it’s another challenge entirely to create a sense of place and identity that has been lacking in downtown Tampa for decades when there isn’t much history in that part of town.

hat’s the problem facing James Nozar, the man in charge of Strategic Property Partners’ plan to build a new 53-acre urban core for Tampa from the ground up. As the chief executive of SPP, the real estate firm owned by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment, he’s working with 17 architects, planners and designers to create a unifying theme across the entire district as they build it block by block.

“There’s not a neighborhood or great historic presence to look back to. That’s our biggest challenge,” Nozar said about the greater downtown Tampa area. “So we’ve had to use the unique Tampa climate to influence the sense of place we’re trying to create.”

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.