Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
| Name | Denise ATKINSON | |
| Gender | Female | |
| HIST | Lee native's business grows by 230 percent during 3-year period Spence Nesmith, an employee at Wholesale Boutique, packages a box at the company's headquarters in Myrtle Beach. PHOTO PROVIDED Posted Sunday, September 11, 2016 6:00 am BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY KONSTANTIN@THEITEM.COM Lee County native Denise Thigpen, started her business out of the trunk of her car with a $5,000 investment in 1998. Today that business, Wholesale Boutique, has grown in revenue by 230 percent during a three-year period. In 2015, the company had a revenue of $15.8 million and more than 100 employees. Thigpen is founder and CEO of Wholesale Boutique and the lifestyle brand Viv & Lou. Wholesale Boutique is a Myrtle Beach-based supplier of bags, accessories, apparel and home goods. Viv & Lou provides personalized products. Wholesale Boutique's products are sold to retailers, and Viv & Lou products are sold to both retailers and consumers through their websites. In its 35th-annual Inc. 5000 list, Inc. Magazine ranked Wholesale Boutique (WB) 1,635th in the nation and 18th in the state of South Carolina. The Inc. 5000 list is a prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, according to its website, www.inc.com/inc5000. Thigpen was also named the 2016 South Carolina Female Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Administration. Thigpen grew up in Ashwood, Lee County, and attended Robert E. Lee Academy, up to seventh grade and Thomas Sumter Academy in middle school and high school. She graduated from TSA in 1989. She received an associate degree in nursing from Florence Darlington Technical College and also attended Francis Marion University. She worked as a nurse at the former Tuomey Regional Medical Center and Carolinas Hospital System in Florence in the early 1990s. While working as a nurse, she started her business selling sterling silver jewelry out of the trunk of her car. She then opened a kiosk at a local mall and later several retail stores. Thigpen said she also traveled internationally during that time, designing and importing a line of jewelry back to the United States. That experience led her to the wholesale business. In 2009, Thigpen hired another Thomas Sumter Academy alumni, Michael Berry, a 1988 graduate of the school, to lead the effort in developing Wholesale Boutique's technology and internet strategy. Berry serves as the chief technology officer of the company. Today, it is an e-commerce company, meaning all transactions are conducted online. Thigpen said she attributes much of the success of the business to the strategies and technologies she and Berry have implemented together. She also said the success of Wholesale Boutique is the result of a work ethic taught to her at a young age by her parents, Vivian and Lewis Atkinson, the hard work of her staff and loyal customers. "We jumped on the technology, on the e-commerce wagon pretty quickly," she said. "Today we're one of the fastest to make and ship personalized items." Thigpen said she tries to create a fun and caring work environment. The company has upgraded its facility to a 68,000-square-foot building in Myrtle Beach and a 3,000-square-foot showroom in Atlanta. "Owning a business is a never-ending process of small steps; if you don't take the next step you will stay exactly where you are," Thigpen said. "A successful business doesn't just happen; you have to make it happen." For more information, visit www.wholesaleboutique.com and www.vivandlou.com. [1] | |
| HIST | Lee native's business grows by 230 percent during 3-year period Spence Nesmith, an employee at Wholesale Boutique, packages a box at the company's headquarters in Myrtle Beach. PHOTO PROVIDED Posted Sunday, September 11, 2016 6:00 am BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY KONSTANTIN@THEITEM.COM Lee County native Denise Thigpen, started her business out of the trunk of her car with a $5,000 investment in 1998. Today that business, Wholesale Boutique, has grown in revenue by 230 percent during a three-year period. In 2015, the company had a revenue of $15.8 million and more than 100 employees. Thigpen is founder and CEO of Wholesale Boutique and the lifestyle brand Viv & Lou. Wholesale Boutique is a Myrtle Beach-based supplier of bags, accessories, apparel and home goods. Viv & Lou provides personalized products. Wholesale Boutique's products are sold to retailers, and Viv & Lou products are sold to both retailers and consumers through their websites. In its 35th-annual Inc. 5000 list, Inc. Magazine ranked Wholesale Boutique (WB) 1,635th in the nation and 18th in the state of South Carolina. The Inc. 5000 list is a prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, according to its website, www.inc.com/inc5000. Thigpen was also named the 2016 South Carolina Female Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Administration. Thigpen grew up in Ashwood, Lee County, and attended Robert E. Lee Academy, up to seventh grade and Thomas Sumter Academy in middle school and high school. She graduated from TSA in 1989. She received an associate degree in nursing from Florence Darlington Technical College and also attended Francis Marion University. She worked as a nurse at the former Tuomey Regional Medical Center and Carolinas Hospital System in Florence in the early 1990s. While working as a nurse, she started her business selling sterling silver jewelry out of the trunk of her car. She then opened a kiosk at a local mall and later several retail stores. Thigpen said she also traveled internationally during that time, designing and importing a line of jewelry back to the United States. That experience led her to the wholesale business. In 2009, Thigpen hired another Thomas Sumter Academy alumni, Michael Berry, a 1988 graduate of the school, to lead the effort in developing Wholesale Boutique's technology and internet strategy. Berry serves as the chief technology officer of the company. Today, it is an e-commerce company, meaning all transactions are conducted online. Thigpen said she attributes much of the success of the business to the strategies and technologies she and Berry have implemented together. She also said the success of Wholesale Boutique is the result of a work ethic taught to her at a young age by her parents, Vivian and Lewis Atkinson, the hard work of her staff and loyal customers. "We jumped on the technology, on the e-commerce wagon pretty quickly," she said. "Today we're one of the fastest to make and ship personalized items." Thigpen said she tries to create a fun and caring work environment. The company has upgraded its facility to a 68,000-square-foot building in Myrtle Beach and a 3,000-square-foot showroom in Atlanta. "Owning a business is a never-ending process of small steps; if you don't take the next step you will stay exactly where you are," Thigpen said. "A successful business doesn't just happen; you have to make it happen." For more information, visit www.wholesaleboutique.com and www.vivandlou.com. | |
| _UID | 44A8D4E2883642F9803BDB0527FD4C6B119F | |
| _UID | 44A8D4E2883642F9803BDB0527FD4C6B119F | |
| Person ID | I309537 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 14 Sep 2016 | |
| Father | Lewis ATKINSON | |
| Mother | Vivian RABON | |
| _UID | DA842763EC4A4C87B9D284A889E6F8526178 | |
| _UID | DA842763EC4A4C87B9D284A889E6F8526178 | |
| Family ID | F165518 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | THIGPEN | |
| _UID | B8CDFFC05A5D41CE8FF5307C93B603991FF8 | |
| _UID | B8CDFFC05A5D41CE8FF5307C93B603991FF8 | |
| Family ID | F165384 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified | 14 Sep 2016 | |
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