Upstate SC is the Place for Business!

7/15/2015 (Permalink)

Upstate businesses preparing for growth, survey shows

Staff Report 
gsanews@scbiznews.com 
Published June 4, 2015

A SunTrust Business Pulse survey shows 77% of business decision-makers are confident about the strength of their companies and four out of five are preparing for growth in the near term. David Torris, SunTrust Banks’ region president for the Upstate and Western North Carolina, said Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson counties are riding strong economic currents.

Torris said consumers since the Great Recession “have become buyers again. In the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area, the local retail industry has benefitted significantly with gross sales hitting the highest mark in more than a decade, ending 2014 with a $13.8 million increase over the previous year. We’re seeing momentum in the real estate market, where the sale of housing units increased by more than 22% from February to March.”

Torris said economic development efforts continue to show big results.

“So how do we keep the economy moving forward? Mirroring the national findings of the SunTrust survey, area business leaders plan to stimulate growth primarily through new products and services, while others are considering mergers and acquisitions,” Torris said.

He said many are looking to the banking industry, “not just for access to capital, but for strategic advice.” He said banks help businesses by “providing them with the counsel, expertise and tools so they have confidence and control over their finances.”