Retail/Wholesale: TING XU

Evergreen Enterprises designs and manufactures thousands of pieces of home and garden décor, licensed sports products and gifts, which are then distributed to retail establishments around the globe.

A Shanghai native who moved to Richmond in 1989 after graduating from Old Dominion University, Xu, along with her husband, Frank Qiu, started Evergreen in 1993 as a decorative flag business to employ her parents, who’d retired as engineers in China before immigrating to Virginia. Today, the company brings in an average $250 million a year and has more than 1,000 employees, with corporate offices in Richmond and Ningbo, China.

In 2010, Xu and Qiu purchased PH International LLC, parent company to several home furniture brands, including Madison County-based Plow & Hearth, well known for its home furnishings and accessories. Four years later, Evergreen acquired VivaTerra LLC, a retailer of eco-friendly décor.

In February, Xu was elected to the board of NewMarket Corp., the parent company of Afton Chemical Corp. and Ethyl Corp. She is also part of Startup Virginia’s founders circle, donating more than $25,000 to the nonprofit entrepreneurship booster.