AROUND TOWN

An attempt to limit SCANA Corporation board member terms failed last week. A proposal to elect board members each year did not receive enough investor votes at the Lexington County-based holding company’s annual meeting. Investors re-elected Class I Directors James A. Bennett, Lynne M. Miller, James W. Roquemore and Maceo K. Sloan. Their terms will expire in 2021 with the exception of Sloan who will reach the mandatory retirement age next year. Class II Directors John E. Bachman and Patricia D. Galloway were elcted for one year.

Walmart’s online strategy backfires

Walmart unintentionally kicked over a hornet’s nest. The discount king had offered expensive hiking, camping and outdoor gear online. These included $250 Deuter hiking backpacks, $100 Leki hiking poles and other brands sold by Moosejaw, a small outdoor retailer Walmart bought. But Leki, Deuter and climbing-gear seller Black Diamond asked to be removed from Walmart’s site. Outdoor stores had told the manufacturers they feared Walmart would lower prices and cut their profits. They threatened to stop selling these products if they remained for sale on Walmart’s site. About a 3rd of the premium outdoor brands left Walmart.com.It’s hard to escape an image as the “Low Price Leader” after all these years.

E-cigarettes may be banned

Due a surge in teen use, the Food and Drug Administration may ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. After years of declining U.S. smoking rates, sales have jumped in a year. This has been spurred by online startups selling vaporizers and nicotine-laced liquids. The most popular brand, Juul, sells refills with mango, cucumber and creme flavors. Each $4 pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told the Wall Street Journal he believes the flavors make e-cigarettes appealing to teens. “The availability of e-cigarettes cannot come at the expense of addicting a new generation of youth onto nicotine, and it won’t,” he said.

Household income up 1.8%

Good news. US household income rose again in 2017. The Census Bureau reported median household income at $61,372 last year, up 1.8% adjusted for inflation. The poverty rate inched down 0.4%

Real estate market

Mary Winter Teaster of Colliers International represented US Coating Company Carolina in the lease of office space at 441 Industrial Drive to HandPicked, Inc. HandPicked boutique features jewelry designed by their in-house team. The location will house the administrative headquarters for HandPicked. “The building is perfectly suited for our operations, providing a unique and creative environment in which our team will thrive,” said Sonya Ingram, Principal of HandPicked. The family owned business and woman-led company, HandPicked, Inc., prides itself on customer attention, providing buyers a feeling of looking their best as if their items were “hand-picked BY them or FOR them!” Teaster is a Senior Brokerage Associate and member of the Colliers office brokerage team, who specializes in serving and advising local small business property owners, buyers, tenants and landlords.