As You Start Decorating Your Properties for the Holidays, Hear from Christmas Consultants International

How did you get into the commercial Christmas decorating business?

I was hired as a fledgling decorator in New York City in 1980 by Kenneth W. Simpson, who was then president of a company called American Christmas Decorating. With Ken, I cut my teeth on such major accounts as the New York Stock Exchange, Pfizer and AT&T’s national headquarters. American Christmas Decorating went on to buy a small display company that had been supplying them animatronic figures, which gave rise to a new company called Display Arts Worldwide. I went to work for them.

Ken had the idea of downsizing the full-size Christmas figures into these two-feet tall retail items called Little People by Display Arts. We did that and the Little People really took off, reaching sales in excess of $18 million in a few short years both in the U.S. and around the world. I started out making the mechanisms for the figures while my sister painted the faces, then rose to national sales manager. The company was doing well and enjoying stellar growth, but unfortunately, the S&L crisis of the late 1980s created a bank-liquidity crisis, which sadly brought down Display Arts.

Around the same time, I became very good friends working with Lou Nasti of Mechanical Displays company, who’s often described as a modern-day Geppetto. He did all those wonderful mechanized animated figures you’d see moving around in the big department store window displays. He’s still providing animatronic displays for casinos. Our friendship continues to this day.

After Display Arts, I moved to Florida to launch Christmas Consultants International.

What is the geographic reach and focus of your company?

In our early days, we did Miami International Airport, as well as various town centers and malls. After years of getting what we do down to a science, we came to concentrate on decorating shopping center exteriors — we no longer do malls — across the entire state of Florida. Our primary focus now is center parking lots.

How many shopping centers do you serve?

Over 100 centers with all the major players, some for over 30 years. We decorate all of the Southeast Centers across the state, many for Woolbright Development Inc., Crossman & Co., Silver Builders Real Estate Corp., Noble Properties and Ideal Management, to name a few. Our truck routes vary year to year, but we normally loop around the entire state, coming full circle, starting in the Naples and Bonita Beach areas.

When and how do you start prepping for your displays, and when do the decorations need to go up and come down?

Decorations are refurbished and garlands are prepared in the cooler months. All of it is ready to load on trucks in October for November installations. We start Nov. 1, and everything must be up by Thanksgiving. Logistically, it’s tougher during takedown because there is a time squeeze. We start New Year’s Day and must complete no later than Jan. 10.

What kind of decor and designs do you put up?

The most requested items are the staples: pole-mounted traditional bells, candles, stockings, gift packages, poinsettias and French horns, as well as various-size building wreaths. We own all of the decor items we use. The lion’s share of decoration work on exteriors today is done with a minimal use of string lights. Most of the centers don’t want any pole decorations plugged into their parking lot light poles.

Are any centers putting up those giant Christmas trees we saw in the past?

The giant Christmas trees are on the decline. We haven’t done one in years.

What are some other changes differences you’ve seen in the business?

There has been a gradual but consistent movement away from some traditional decorations, mostly so as not to offend anyone. That includes Santas, even elves, or anything with a religious connotation, such as angels. And most of the lit decorations have transitioned to LED with less power consumption and longer lasting bulbs.

How do you market yourself?

We advertise in trade journals just before and during the Orlando ICSC show. We were a Gold Sponsor of the ICSC@FLORIDA conference this year, which helps greatly in keeping us properly positioned. I’m proud to say I’ve been a member in good standing with ICSC for over 25 years.

Do you use contract labor or your own people?

We never use contract labor at centers, so as to maintain our quality control. We rent the trucks we use because it’s more economical, both for insurance costs and maintenance.

Did COVID have any impact on your business?

Surprisingly, we only lost one of our larger customers during COVID, and they were already considering eliminating decorating from their budget. Post-9/11 was much worse. It just curtailed the decor business across the state. But the past two years have been challenging in a different sense. With the hurricanes and storms taking all the necessary bucket trucks out of play for other uses just as the season was kicking off, we had to scramble to locate trucks. The shortage got so bad last year that people were just buying used trucks sight unseen.

Do you ever lose any decorations to weather or theft?

The sun down here is so intense that you have to replace decorations once every several years, but the frames we use for the decorations can last for decades. We still see frames out there from the 1960s. As for the elements, we use a boatload of bands to secure decorations so they don’t come off. And theft? In my 30 years of working in Florida, decorations have been stolen from a shopping center maybe two or three times. It likely wasn’t malice but inept workers for competitors who went to the wrong center to take down decorations.

Based on your discussions with clients, what’s your sense about how centers will perform in the forthcoming Christmas?

The industry is facing some strong headwinds. Inflation is still high, the Fed has been raising interest rates, insurance costs are soaring, especially here in Florida, and there’s an election year looming. That adds up to a lot of uncertainty. Plus, we’re seeing many more centers being sold this year, and it looks like a few more are headed that way.

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What ever became of the Little People?

A New Jersey corporation bought the rights, but the category has all but faded away, mainly due to the poor quality coming from China. I still have some of the originals, and they can occasionally be seen for sale online; they’re collectibles.