Decorator Turns Malls Into Yuletide Wonderlands

Gordon Becker never stops thinking about Christmas.

As president and founder of Becker Group--the nation’s largest retail decorator--visions of sugarplums dance in his head all year as he concocts ways to turn ubiquitous shopping centers and malls into customer-luring winter wonderlands.

The company’s creations go beyond strings of lights and plywood reindeer. There are castles and Christmas trees as tall as office buildings. There are scenes of Disney characters, Sesame Street creatures, Peanuts, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Garfield the Cat.

Becker Group installed new displays in 145 shopping centers and malls this year at an average cost of $100,000 apiece. The company’s clientele, though, comprises 350 malls and centers nationwide.

Becker said revenue for the privately owned company is expected to exceed $13 million in 1990, with the Christmas decorations accounting for nearly 95% of business.

“It’s a fun business, but there are nerve-racking moments,” said the 57-year-old Becker, a former store Santa.

Becker’s busiest time is the two months before Christmas, when the company ships and assembles its Christmas creations. Throughout the year he’s taking orders, making plans and surveying malls and stores.

Business wasn’t always so brisk, however.

Becker was forced to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in 1976. Although he managed to stay in business, he struggled until 1983, when things finally started to take off.

It was then that Becker began targeting developers who own groups of malls. Those contracts now make up 60% of his business.

“I was meeting with a developer in Dallas in 1983, and he told me I might have a good year. He had 12 malls and he was thinking about giving me five or six,” Becker said. “I said why not all 12? I came back with almost a million-dollar order.”

Revenue immediately jumped from $3 million, where it had been mired for several years, to $4.7 million.

Today, Becker’s company is the exclusive decorator for 13 developers and has more than 60 corporate clients in all, including Taubman Co., which owns 22 shopping centers, and Edward J. DeBartolo Corp., which owns more than 70 shopping centers.

Among his clients, the Northwest Plaza in St. Louis, Mo., recently paid Becker $400,000 for a giant Santa Castle complete with 50-foot banners strung through 10-foot-high wreaths.

Christi Parks, who is the marketing director for Northwest Plaza, said: “We probably do the largest Santa photo concession. Because it’s so breathtaking, people will drive from miles around to get their picture taken in our Santa Castle rather than somewhere else.

“There’s absolutely no doubt it’s worth the money we spent on it. Our mall has always had a reputation for having special Christmas decorations. For us to do something every few feet was not acceptable. We literally need to fill the mall with Christmas.”