Surry Business

All in One Portrait Studio will open its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at 788 W. Lebanon St. in Mount Airy. The studio’s telephone number is (336) 786-0045.

Wachovia Corporation’s board of directors has approved the company’s regular 64-cents-per-share quarterly cash dividend on its common stock.

The dividend is payable on Dec. 17, 2007, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 30, 2007.

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB) is one of the nation’s largest diversified financial services companies, with assets of $719.9 billion and market capitalization of $97.5 billion at June 30, 2007. Wachovia provides a broad range of retail banking and brokerage, asset and wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services to 13 million household and business customers. Wachovia has 3,400 retail financial centers including three in Surry County: 554 N. Main in Mount Airy, 105 N. Crutchfield in Dobson and 1500 N. Bridge St. in Elkin.

Retail brokerage operations under the Wachovia Securities brand name manage more than $795 billion in client assets through approximately 10,800 registered representatives in 774 offices in 48 states.

Online banking is available at wachovia.com; online brokerage products and services at wachoviasec.com; and investment products and services at evergreeninvestments.com.

Mobys Coffee Company, a Christian coffeehouse operator and franchiser founded less than three years ago in Mount Airy, N.C., is opening new stores this fall in Winston-Salem.

Mobys Coffee also recently announced it will introduce a special “CHRISTmas Blend” on Nov. 13.

The Summit Square store at 193 N. Summit Square Blvd. opened Oct. 17. The Deacon Boulevard store at 619 Deacon Blvd. will open Oct. 24. The Liberty Plaza store at 102 W. Third will open in a few weeks (date to be announced).

The Summit Square and Deacon Boulevard stores both are drive-thru locations. Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m. to midnight Friday, and 6:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday.

Mobys Coffee also has two stores in Burlington and one each in Summerfield, Walkertown and Conover. The company’s flagship location is at 2123 Rockford St. (the Forest Oaks shopping mall) in Mount Airy.

Mobys Coffee’s next store outside Winston-Salem will be in Hickory. Stores in Virginia and Ohio are being considered.

Brian and Kathy Brady founded Mobys Coffee in December 2004. The two together had about 25 years’ experience in restaurant operations and customer service. Brian had been with Starbucks for about seven years when the couple and their two young children moved from the Los Angeles area to North Carolina so Brian could manage a Starbucks in Winston-Salem. After he unexpectedly lost that job, a friend suggested that the couple combine their knowledge of coffee with a ministry.

The Bradys started Mobys Coffee inside Pages Bookstore on Main Street in Mount Airy. Needing more space, they moved to the Forest Oaks strip mall location. There the store’s combination of “coffee, pastries, music and more” — Mobys’ slogan is “heavenly grounds for your daily grind” — attracts upwards of 100 people on Friday and Saturday nights when Mobys provides live entertainment.

Mobys Coffee Company is at the forefront of growth in a sales category known as “Christian retailing.”

“Christian coffeehouses like Mobys are popping up across the country,” writes Winston-Salem Journal reporter Sherry Youngquist. “Perhaps it’s not surprising that the evangelical movement and our caffeine-fueled society have found common ground. The Bradys and other Christian retailers are tapping into the increasing popularity of the marketplace as ministry — and a market that generates about $4.5 billion a year in sales.”

Andy Butcher of “Christian Retailing” magazine explains, “What makes us distinctive? It’s that safe environment…. It’s not just a place to buy, but a place to be. (Customers) are going to these places as much for relaxation as retail.”

For their part, Kathy and Brian Brady say, “We do not believe we are in the coffee business, we are in the people business…. Our sole focus is to represent what a Christian business and Christian owners can be when they are focused on delivering God’s plan.”

Mobys Coffee’s corporate offfice is at 1326 N. Main St., Mount Airy, NC 27030, telephone (336) 786-1500 or fax (336) 786-4711. The corporate office manager is Katrina Evans.

For franchise information, you can download the company’s informational brochure here.

Mobys Coffee also operates a mobile coffee service. Visit the company’s web site for more information.

Triad-area real-estate brokers sold approximately 1,140 homes and condo units in September 2007.

That is 28 percent less than in September 2006, according to the Triad Multiple Listing Service that compiles statistics from an 11-county region including Surry County and the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point.

More than half of the units being sold are single-family, three-bedroom homes. The median price for such houses was $133,000 in 2007 compared with nearly $138,000 in 2006. The average price also dropped to $147,300 from about $150,900.

Counting all units together, total dollar volume in September 2007 was $204.6 million, the median price was $145,000 and the average price was $179,100. Twelve months ago, the total was higher ($250.3 million) but the median and average sales prices were lower: $140,875 and $175,800, respectively.

Don’t expect next year’s list of Surry County’s largest employers to look much like the Top 25 list displayed right now on the N.C. Employment Security Commission’s web site.

Each year’s list is based on the previous year’s data. For the current report, employment statistics from September 2006 were compiled in March 2007.

In the past few months, several large apparel and textile companies have ceased manufacturing operations in Surry County. Though some will continue sales, marketing and distribution operations in Mount Airy, those companies will operate with greatly reduced staffs.

Next spring’s report should show how Surry County’s industrial base is becoming broader and more diversified — and less dependent on any single manufacturing sector — with the addition and/or expansion of companies such as Gerard’s Bakery (pre-baked bread), CK Technologies and United Plastics Inc. (injection moldings), SouthData (printing and data services), Carolina Carports and T-N-T Carports (prefabricated metal buildings), and Salem Distribution Services (transportation and logistics).

Here’s the present list:

SURRY COUNTY’S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS (as of September 2006)

Source: Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, Labor Market Information Division

Though September sales gains were moderate, they were better than expected, giving retailers a welcome surprise as they head into the ever-important holiday season. According to the National Retail Federation, retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) last month rose 2.2 percent unadjusted over last year and 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted from August.

September retail sales compiled by the U.S. Commerce Department show total retail sales (which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants) increased 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted from last month and 2.9 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

“Consumer spending continues to be restrained in most areas,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “Although sales across the board show modest increases, consumers are certainly spending more cautiously.”

Family Dollar earned $242.9 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, in fiscal 2007, the year that ended Sept. 1, 2007. That is up 24.5 percent from $195.1 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, in fiscal 2006, but the results for 2006 include a $45-million litigation charge and a $10.5-million charge related to stock-option grants.

Sales increased 6.9 percent to $6.83 billion from $6.39 billion in fiscal 2006.

The discount chain also announced fourth-quarter net income of $37.8 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, up from $32.3 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 include a $10.5-million pre-tax charge for the adjustment of noncash stock-based compensation.

Fourth-quarter sales rose 3.4 percent to $1.63 billion. Revenue from food and certain seasonal categories, primarily toys, were the primary drivers for the increase. Same-store sales grew 1 percent from a year ago.

Family Dollar has four stores in Surry County: 911D E. Atkins St. in Dobson, 1116 W. Pine and 1462 U.S. Highway 52 South in Mount Airy and on South Key Street (U.S. Highway 268) in Pilot Mountain.

Family Dollar is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. The first Family Dollar store was opened in Charlotte in 1959. It was a relatively small, self-service operation located in a neighborhood convenient to low- and middle-income consumers. The merchandise assortment featured basic goods for family and home needs, and the no-frills, low-overhead, cash-and-carry environment provided good value at the lowest price points.

Family Dollar now operates more than 6,400 stores in a contiguous 44-state area ranging northeast to Maine, southeast to Florida, as far northwest as Idaho and southwest to Arizona. A typical store has 7,500 to 9,500 square feet. Most are operated under leases. The relatively small store size permits Family Dollar to open new stores in rural areas and small towns, as well as in large urban neighborhoods. Within these markets, stores are located in shopping centers or as free-standing buildings or in urban storefronts.

What is a “small business”? The federal government — as you might expect — has created an official definition of the phrase. And the answer (at the bottom of this post) might surprise you.

That answer, and other useful information about small business in America, is contained in a two-page, tightly written, information-packed guide recently published online (in PDF format) by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. It includes links to federal regulations concerning small businesses, to standards for how large a company must be to bid for federal contracts (the standards vary by industry), to risk factors and the likelihood of a small business’s survival and to research on the cost and availability of health insurance.

If you’re thinking of starting a new business in Surry County, we can recommend some local links, too. First, of course, is our web site’s sponsor: the Surry County Economic Development Partnership in Dobson, N.C., where President Robin Rhyne and Jessica Coutu (pronounced koo-two), director of marketing and research, have amassed a great deal of information for and about manufacturers, sites and other business-specific needs. The Small Business Center at Surry Community College, also in Dobson (the county seat of Surry County), has the staff and resources to answer almost any questions about doing business in this area. And the City of Mount Airy has a helpful online guide to licensing requirements.

Answer: The SBA defines a “small business” as an independent business employing less than 500 persons.

BB&T has various activities planned for National Customer Service Week, which began Oct. 1.

The financial holding company has received national accolades recently for its client service. BB&T plans to build on that momentum with a week of activities designed to highlight the bank’s client service culture, known as the “Perfect
Client Experience.”

“This week is about reinforcing our dedication to highly personal service to our valued clients and fellow employees,” said BB&T Chief Operating Officer Kelly King. “Everything we do at BB&T is predicated on serving our clients and continuing to earn their loyalty with every interaction, each and every day.”

BB&T’s celebration for the 15th annual National Customer Service Week will center around a “Service from the Heart” theme. Employees will wear ribbons commemorating the week and can nominate fellow employees as “Service from the Heart champions” for providing stellar service to external and internal clients. Employees also will review the basic tenets of the BB&T service culture and begin each day this week with “quick start” meetings designed to reinforce the “Service from the Heart” theme.

J.D. Power and Associates recently ranked BB&T highest in customer satisfaction among primary mortgage servicing
companies. And BB&T was one of only 21 banks, among 600 surveyed, that received the top “Excellence Award” from Greenwich Associates for overall banking services to small businesses.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) and its subsidiaries offer full-service commercial and retail banking and additional financial services such as insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international banking, leasing and trust.

BB&T operates more than 1,500 financial centers including five in Surry County: two in Elkin, two in Mount Airy and one in Pilot Mountain.

With $127.6 billion in assets, BB&T Corporation is the 11th largest U.S. financial holding company.

The U.S. Department of Labor has released more than $5.2 million to help North Carolina provide career training, job search and relocation assistance to workers who have lost their jobs for reasons related to trade. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act program also extends unemployment benefits from 26 weeks up to two years. This latest allocation will bring the state’s entire fiscal 2008 TAA appropriation to more than $22.2 million.

Here in Surry County, some of that money will assist former employees of Gildan Activewear (doing business as Kentucky Derby Hosiery) and Renfro Corp. Gildan closed its Mount Airy operations after opening new manufacturing facilities overseas. Renfro discontinued manufacturing in Mount Airy as it increased its imports of foreign-made socks for U.S. distribution while also facing more competition from low-priced foreign products. A third company, Cross Creek Apparel, also has ceased manufacturing in Mount Airy and its workers may qualify for TAA certification.

The funds for North Carolina and 14 other states were drawn from remaining fiscal year 2007 resources that have been maintained in a reserve account set up in fiscal year 2004. by the U.S. Department of Labor under the TAA program. The 15 states have the highest TAA-related expenditures for trade-impacted workers. No state is scheduled to receive more TAA assistance than North Carolina in fiscal 2008, which began Oct. 1.

“Our commitment to the harder-hit states will ensure that their communities can work with employers and educators to return their dislocated workers quickly to the workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. “As our nation’s workers strive to succeed in the competitive global economy, it is important that those facing trade-related job loss have access to expanded career opportunities.”

Since 2001, TAA funds have helped displaced workers from Kentucky Derby Hosiery, Cross Creek Apparel, Insteel Industries, Pine State Knitwear, Chatham Borgstena Automotive Textiles and Renfro Hosiery in Mount Airy and from Interface Fabrics and Westpoint Homes Inc. in Elkin.