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Cable network QVC to employ 400 at Florence distribution
center...
FLORENCE - A 265-acre plot of land near the intersection of
Interstate 95 and TV Road will soon become home to a 1
million-square-foot distribution center for cable
television’s QVC shopping network.
The company initially will hire 400 people at the
distribution center, which is expected to open in mid-2007,
said Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, who made the
announcement Tuesday. Construction will begin next month on
the $75 million building, and the company will hire at least
200 more workers within the first year to 18 months.
“I am extremely happy that QVC has chosen Florence for
its new distribution center,” Leatherman said in a press
release issued Tuesday afternoon. “A tremendous effort was
put forth on the part of our local economic development
team, headed by (Florence County Economic Development
Director) Joe King, in attracting such a blue chip company
as QVC.”
While the initial hiring of 400 workers at jobs
paying between $10 and $12 an hour was exciting,
those close to the negotiations were just as
excited about the potential for even more jobs
at the QVC distribution center. The company’s
Rocky Mount, N.C., distribution center went on
line in 2000 with the same number of workers and
now employs 800 people.
A complicated blend of
economic incentives was used to lure QVC to
Florence over several other areas. Florence
County gave QVC a nearly $1.5 million incentive
package, including the standard
fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement, Florence County
Administrator Richard Starks said.
A third of the incentive money came from
grants, while the county will provide the other
two-thirds up front for the company’s land
acquisition.
The two-thirds provided by the county will be
fully reimbursed through the fee stream, Starks
said.
In addition to the incentives
offered by the county, the state
offered QVC a package of $2 million
worth of infrastructure improvements
at the site.
Key to QVC’s decision
to establish a site in Florence was
its location. The site is near two
major cross-country interstates as
well as an existing rail system, and
it is close to the port at
Charleston. These factors are
important in locating a distribution
center. Economic development
officials throughout the Pee Dee are
beginning to envision a cluster of
transportation and logistics
companies.
