Christmas future
Published: 07 March, 2006
In spite of Stephen Logue's comments in last month's Shopping Centre (SC January p4), it is reasonable to expect that Christmas 2006 will be every bit as bling-laden as normal. Equally sane to suppose that shopping centre managers will already have some pretty robust plans in place to give their malls a festive buzz 10 months from now.
But these good intentions will not yet be set in stone and as days give way to months, they will undergo considerable refinement and for those who have done nothing about any of this yet, there's still time to start from scratch. It seems odd writing about Christmas in February, but getting a mall ready for the rush and (hopefully) putting customers in the appropriate mood is a job that requires almost military precision.
Yet speak for a few moments to Adam Nicholson, business director at Christmas decoration supplier Imagination and you might come away with the impression that everything happens at the last moment: "It goes without saying that our industry is seasonal, resulting in an incredibly frenetic couple of months in October and November." He continues: "During this time late orders need to be fulfilled, the schemes start being dispatched and installed, staffing levels double etc. As a company we need to start spreading this load across the year."
Practically, what Imagination has done is to offer a discount to those placing an order ahead of the last quarter rush. This is done on the basis of a sliding scale up to a maximum of 10 per cent - meaning, potentially, a substantial saving on what is traditionally a major element of any centre manager's budget.
Nicholson has a point. Trends in Christmas decoration may be subject to the same fluctuations as any other commodity you can think of, but at least in any one location there will be only be one centre scheme. This means a degree of flexibility that would be missing as far as a sector like fashion clothing is concerned.
There are of course a number of absolutely fixed costs in the manufacturing and safe installation of a Christmas scheme. Behind every good-looking scheme there is a huge logistical effort to deliver and install products within what amounts to a very narrow window. Then there is the cost of design (and yes, these do tend to change, at least in part, annually), the price of the materials used and the manufacturing process to be considered. All of which adds up to a big bill irrespective of the final result.
So as the reindeer are stabled and the elves consigned to the stockroom for another year, what is the timetable and what needs doing now?
For those who like to get things wrapped up ahead of time, it would be useful to know in which direction the current trends are heading for Christmas 2006. At Imagination, creative director Lisa Turnbull says that we should be expecting a coloured light-led festive showing after several years of white-lit schemes. She says however that it will not be a case of straightforward replacement and that coloured lighting will be aimed at complementing and "adding dimension to a scene that can, at times, be a little bland."
In terms of shapes and materials, Imagination is ringing the changes as well. Turnbull predicts that opaques will take the place of garlands, being used to enclose LED lights: "To give colour and form to giant suspended pieces." Blank walls and spaces will be colour-washed to add seasonal ambiance.
Perhaps reassuringly, there will still be Christmas grottoes. Turnbull comments that while there is a general mantra in terms of decoration that less is more, this is not the case when it comes to catering for kids. Grottoes in 2006 will remain an indispensable element of what makes a Christmas mall tick, driving footfall as children drag reluctant parents (or just possibly vice versa) to pay their respects to the man in red.
Turnbull's views meet with a measure of agreement at LDJ Design and Display where managing director Caroline Gamester says: "We're seeing shopping centres taking a more strategic approach to their Christmas environment. Strong colourways, such as purples and oranges, are set to combine with evergreen and metallic decorations, spelling an end to minimalism. But it's not a question of turning the clock back either. While the more traditional Victorian Christmas will always be right for certain centres, 2005 has seen a return in design fields to rich colours and highly decorative designs. 2006 is predicted to be the year flock wallpaper makes a resurgence."
When it comes to lighting, Gamester regards lights as the Christmas mood-setter: "I'm certain lights will continue to play an integral part to setting the Christmas scene. The key for the future will be how they are used. Expect to see lights increasingly used to create dramatic sculptures, both in and outdoors, to make a visual splash."
Whatever your view of how to deck the halls, there is one inescapable piece of equipment for almost every mall you can think of - some form of lift, ladder or hydraulic hoist that will help the unfortunates charged with installing a Christmas scheme to reach the parts that others might not normally reach. Nationwide is a company that has made a business out of providing for this kind of necessity.
In late October and early November last year it sent teams to 50 shopping centres, including the MetroCentre, Bluewater and Meadowhall, to get Christmas up and running. It is inherent in most Christmas schemes that the bulk of what is done is overhead rather than at eye level.
The planning element required of centre management comes to the fore at this point. Owing to the nature of the machinery being used and the need to avoid trading interruption, all work has to be carried out at night, meaning that out-of-hours teams have to be provided by Nationwide and shopping centres have to make similar abnormal arrangements.
The whole process is then repeated in reverse when decorations are dismantled and removed over a 12-day period. Which serves perhaps to emphasise why Nicholson is anxious to spread the business of getting ready for Santa over 12 months rather than three. Without meticulous planning there is always the danger that the Christmas melee can run away with suppliers.
From a centre manager's perspective, quite apart from the benefits that companies like Imagination offer in terms of a real cost-saving on the list price, by getting things on order ahead of the event, there is just the possibility of devoting more time to tenants at the most wonderful time of the year.
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Imagination: [http://www.imaginationuk.com]
LDJ Design & Display: [http://www.ldj-display.com]
Nationwide: [http://www.nationwideaccess.co.uk]
