DeWITT — Downtown Decorations, Inc., a growing provider of holiday decorations around the country and internationally, is moving to its fourth building since launching in 2003. The company got its start in a basement and has since expanded to a 10,000-square-foot location at 6604 Deere Road in DeWitt. The firm acquired its new 22,000-square-foot building […]
DeWITT — Downtown Decorations, Inc., a growing provider of holiday decorations around the country and internationally, is moving to its fourth building since launching in 2003.
The company got its start in a basement and has since expanded to a 10,000-square-foot location at 6604 Deere Road in DeWitt. The firm acquired its new 22,000-square-foot building at 6724 Joy Road in DeWitt for $480,000 in October.
Downtown Decorations provides large-scale decorations mostly for shopping centers and municipalities. Locally, that includes customers such as Destiny USA, ShoppingTown Mall, and the city of Syracuse.
But most of the firm’s business is outside Central New York. The company has customers in all 50 states as well as other nations including Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, and the Bahamas.
Downtown Decorations is already storing some of its inventory at its new building, says Garrett Peterson, vice president. Peterson co-founded and co-owns the business with his father Ted.
The bulk of the firm’s inventory will move over after the holidays and the office will relocate in late February or early March. Downtown Decorations is out of room at its current building.
“The office is bulging at the seams,” Peterson says. “The warehouse is bulging at the seams.”
In addition to storing some material at the new building, Peterson leased a temporary warehouse for the holidays and is also using some storage containers outside the current building.
Although the company’s busy season naturally occurs around the holidays, Downtown Decorations is not a seasonal enterprise. Planning and research is a year-round affair, Peterson explains.
He says he already has notes and ideas for next year. When customers start planning early, he adds, just about anything is possible.
Firms that plan early also often get better pricing, he notes.
Peterson credits the growth the business has generated since launching to its sales and marketing efforts, customer service, and design work. Nearly all of the company’s projects involve some level of customization and staff members do all of the design and engineering in-house, he notes.
Downtown Decorations does its final assembly at its headquarters.
The firm researches thoroughly, Peterson says. He, his father, and a designer make annual trips around the U.S., visiting hundreds of malls during the holidays to examine and photograph their decorations.
The company also keeps up on industry news so when a customer calls looking for decorations for a new commercial building, Downtown Decorations often already has ideas to present, Peterson says.
He also says the firm invested in its marketing efforts throughout the downturn. That meant taking on some smaller projects during the time period. The work eventually paid off.
“We did a lot of business with people on very small-scale things,” Peterson says. “I’ve had clients who have done six-figure projects with me who started out [ordering] two bows and a box of light bulbs.”
Downtown Decorations employs 14 people and has been adding a person or two each of the past two years. Peterson says more hiring is likely once the company moves to its new building.
The Joy Road location should hold the company for at least 10 years, he adds.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
