Warm-Weather Retailers Hang Up the Holly

‘Tis the season to be jolly, not wet, so Burbank pool store owner Bill Thuesen washed out his summer stock and replaced it with artificial Christmas trees, ornaments and other holiday decorations.

He’s not the only retailer to replace his regular merchandise with seasonal items. Pool stores, patio shops and nurseries around Southern California are finding that providing Christmas merchandise from October through December is a good way to pump up drained winter sales.

“Pool stores don’t make any money in wintertime,” said Thuesen, owner of Burbank Pool Supply. Bringing in Christmas items is “a blatant attempt to make money during the off-season. We probably do 25% of our annual gross this time of year, in a time when I’d otherwise be doing 5%.”

Switching to Christmas goods is a natural extension for businesses that rely on warm weather for sales, said Roger Gruen, regional sales manager for Kurt S. Adler Inc., probably the largest supplier of Christmas decorations in the country. “For most retailers, business gets better every year.”

Holiday decor sales have been steadily rising, other experts agreed. According to Unity Marketing, a Pennsylvania-based marketing and consulting firm, consumers spent about $1.94 billion on Christmas decorations such as tree trimmings and lighting in 1999 and an additional $1.3 billion on collectibles.

American Express, in its 2000 Retail Index on Holiday Shopping, reported that consumers spent an average of $64 on holiday decorations last year, and are expected to spend about $88 this season.

Green Thumb Nursery in Canoga Park, which has been in business for 54 years, has turned its patio shop into a Christmas store for the last 30, said branch manager John Irwin.

“We got into the Christmas business because our nursery business slows down in November and December,” Irwin said. “We started selling cut trees and one thing led to another.”

Christmas sales have increased every year, he said, and have doubled in the last five years. “In November and December, we will do as much as we do in six months in patio furniture.”

The six other Green Thumb nurseries (in San Marcos, El Toro, Sepulveda, Van Nuys, Newhall and Ventura) also carry holiday items in varying amounts depending on store size, Irwin said.

They devote a little space to patio furniture and the rest to seasonal goods. “If we close out the patio section completely, we can’t react quickly enough restocking in January,” he said.

Thuesen, who has been selling holiday products for four winters, also keeps some pool supplies handy, but the rest of his 1,800-square-foot store is given over to wreaths, artificial trees, outdoor lights, light-up Santas and such.

Making way for seasonal items is labor-intensive, retailers say.

“It’s a ton of work,” said Pam Gietzen, co-owner with her husband, Lon, of Deforest’s Patio & Fireside Shop in Woodland Hills, which becomes Deforest’s Christmas & Fireside Shop this time of year. “It takes nine months to plan and set up.”

Thuesen said he’s learned not to carry the same products as mass marketers because “they’d kill me on the price.”

Catering to a more upscale clientele seems to be the secret. Thuesen said his $100,000 worth of inventory includes lawn and roof ornaments, especially $300 to $1,000 light-up decorations that feature moving parts, such as a waving Santa. These are items that wouldn’t be found at mass merchandisers, he noted.

“To some degree, we try to set the pace,” he said. “ . . . People are always looking for something new.”