With the Christmas season in full swing, the nation is lit up by decorations and illuminations.
But there’s one Welsh city the place it is Christmas all yr spherical.
Festive Productions Ltd is without doubt one of the largest suppliers of Christmas decorations within the UK.
Sky News visited its base in Cwmbran, south Wales, which is positioned on a website measuring 250,000 sq. ft.
Its distribution workplace right here has over 16,000 pallet areas, and its showroom for Christmas 2024 has already opened.
No nook of the showroom is left undecorated, as baubles and bells, tinsel and bushes span a number of rooms.
Each room is intricately adorned to suit a distinct theme, from sweet cane colors to a winter wonderland extravaganza.
For followers of Christmas, it really is a website to behold – a vibrant celebration of all of the festive interval’s beloved traditions.
Christmas ornament shopping for patterns have returned “towards normal” this yr as power prices eased, the corporate stated.
It comes after UK inflation fell to a two-year low in November.
Jonathan Hughes is the corporate’s advertising and marketing director.
He instructed Sky News customers this yr have been on the lookout for “fairly traditional” objects.
“Christmas lighting has made a bit of a comeback this year,” he stated.
“Where people, with the cost of living crisis, have avoided some of those higher ticket items, they’re now looking to buy those again along with Christmas trees, artificial Christmas trees, which weren’t selling so much last year.”
Not solely are the decorations for subsequent Christmas already on show, planning for the 2025 festive interval can also be beneath approach.
Mr Hughes stated the corporate analyses information to foretell what sort of decorations customers might be on the lookout for.
“We use a variety of data sources, trend sources, which will look at the trends coming through from fashion, stationery, homewares, interiors and we’ll disseminate that information and use it within our Christmas collections,” he added.
“If you’re buying something from us, you’ll see that trend right throughout different industries, different markets, and it’s making that commercial and not just trend-driven – that’s the key.”
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The price of power had been a “big factor” for customers final yr, Mr Hughes added.
“People were put off items that they thought would cost them money to run and also if it was a high ticket item like a large set of Christmas lights or an artificial tree then they decided to probably opt for something which was less expensive.”
The British Retail Consortium says customers are “still being squeezed by the cost of living”.
But, Kris Hamer, its director of insights, added: “People are clearly willing to spend on the small luxuries, particularly in the lead up to Christmas, and decorations are exactly the type of thing we’d expect to do well.”
Source: information.sky.com”