Buc-ees Means Business
Exit 83, just a few miles down the road on I75, at Richmond is about to be transformed. This time last year, Madison County was planning the groundbreaking for the $30 million Buc-ees property that’s expected to have 120 gas pumps and a 53,300 square foot retail space.
The Richmond Buc-ee’s is expected to open in April and will host a hiring event in March, planning to fill as many as 400 positions, with a starting pay of $15/hour.
A 2017 Forbes article says “The quiet success of Buc-ee’s—Forbes estimates that the privately held company had revenue last year of $275 million—is based on several shrewd decisions. Owners Arch Aplin III and Don Wasek have targeted an affluent market segment—they don’t discount, and they don’t allow commercial trucks at their gas pumps. They have nurtured the cult-like following that has grown around their brand. They’ve fattened their margins with lots of private-label merchandise. And they’ve taken advantage of years of low interest rates to finance an expansion that is designed to make them a power across the Southeast.”
Gatton Distinction
Professors from the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics have earned the distinction of being among the top 2 percent of scientists worldwide as measured by the impact of their research publications. The five business school faculty were identified in a fall 2021 update to the worldwide database of top scientists created by Stanford University. The ranking is based on 20 or more years of impact in their fields of study. Included are Stephen P. Borgatti – Gatton Endowed Chair of Management; Daniel J. Brass – J. Henning Hilliard Chair in Innovation Management and Director of the LINKS Center for Social Network Analysis; Scott Kelley – Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; John Peloza – Carol Martin Gatton Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Research; Simon J. Sheather –Truist Chair in Data Analytics and Dean.
Economic Outlook
Embarking upon a new year, with a multitude of challenges, the economic recovery continues globally and regionally, bringing a new year of recovery. UK’s 33rd Annual Economic Outlook Conference is set for Tuesday, February 8, 2022, from 8 a.m. to Noon EST, at the Central Bank Center. This year’s conference is in-person, requiring pre-registration. Mark E. Schweitzer, Senior Vice President of Research of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, will be the featured speaker of the conference. Dr. Schweitzer’s own research has focused on the macroeconomic impact of labor market developments and the identification of factors contributing to regional economic growth.
Additional speakers include:
Simon Sheather, Dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky
Mike Clark, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Kentucky
Haoying Sun, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain at the University of Kentucky
Aaron Thompson, President of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
“This annual event consistently provides a morning full of information and insights,” said Simon Sheather, dean of the Gatton College. “We are eager to share insights and views on the economy, including lessons learned from the disruption of a pandemic from leadership experts in finance, education and government entities.”
The event, which is sponsored by Central Bank, is hosted by UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics’ Executive Education Center. Presenting Sponsors include Commerce Lexington, Inc., Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors, Center for Business and Economic Research, and UK’s Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise.
SPORTS
Lexington Pro Soccer, the USL League One soccer club awarded to the city of Lexington in October, has released a series of renderings of its proposed downtown stadium. The renderings, which were included in a submission by the club’s ownership team to the Lexington Center Corporation’s High Street Development Project, have been designed to the area directly across High Street from the Lexington Convention Center and Rupp Arena, bordered by Lexington Center Drive, Maxwell Street, and Poplar Alley.
Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the 6,000+ seat Lexington Pro Soccer multi-use venue and soccer stadium would feature 45,000 square feet of entertainment-focused retail with patio views overlooking both the stadium and Rupp Arena.
Postponed:
The Chamber’s Annual Dinner, An Evening With Commerce Lexington, originally scheduled for January has been rescheduled for April 6, 2022.
CALENDAR
Feb 8 Chamber Business Link, Hilton
Feb 10 Women Leading Kentucky luncheon, Grand Reserve
Mar 8 Emerge Lexington
Apr 6 An Evening with Commerce Lexington
This article also appears on pages 4-5 of the February 2022 print edition of Hamburg Journal.
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