Blue Delta Jeans in Lee County expands
Once work begins, the expansion should take about six months.
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – They create jobs, boost the economy, and drive innovation. Small businesses play a huge role in their communities.
That’s why there are incentives at the state and local levels to boost small business expansion.
For a few brief minutes, the sewing machines stopped at Blue Delta Jeans.
This ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the expansion of Blue Delta Jeans. The company is buying the building it has been operating out of. That will allow them to expand from 15,000 to 25,000 square feet at the Tupelo Lee Industrial Park South.
“It is a great move for us because it allows us to control our future and not worry about, ‘Will we outgrow it?; Can employees get to it?’ It’s a good move for us to kind of sustain our future,” said Blue Delta Jeans CEO Josh West.
Blue Delta received a property tax incentive from Lee County and an existing business industry loan from the Mississippi Development Authority.
“These programs are designed by the Mississippi Legislature and supported by the governor to help existing businesses stay here. So, they can be competitive here so they don’t leave and go somewhere else,” said Executive Director of Mississippi Development Authority Bill Cork.
Wesley Webb is president of the Lee County Board of Supervisors and said giving businesses incentives to grow and stay in the area is vital in the competitive world of economic development.
“If it wasn’t for people like Josh and Nick at Blue Delta, they are the people who drive this community. We are so fortunate to have them in this community and they are the ones who drive and make Tupelo and Lee County so special,” said Webb.
Once work begins, the expansion should take about six months. It should also help position Blue Delta for future growth.
Each pair of Blue Delta Jeans is custom-made. They are sold online and are also carried by more than 400 wholesale partners in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
