How this Electrical Contractor Became a Year-round Lighting Expert as a Christmas Decor and Nite Time Decor Franchisee

When Abilene, Texas-based Matt Robinson first bought his franchise at Christmas Decor in 2012, he realized early on that he wanted to make this seasonal business a year-round enterprise, if for no other reason than to spread the work over the course of a year.

“It’s pretty overwhelming to sell and install Christmas lighting packages and then take them down again, all in the course of a month,” he says.

Luckily for Robinson, an electrical contractor, the transition happened organically. Now a known and respected permanent outdoor lighting specialist, Robinson’s former Christmas rush has morphed into year-round demand for his cutting edge expertise.

Some of that demand comes in the form of early Christmas orders. “Many of my commercial clients, like Texas Tech University, want to get their budgets together for the Christmas season and are signing up early,” he says, noting that even residential clients are getting a foot in the door now.

“If you didn’t sign up early, you couldn’t even get us last year,” he says. “Demand was crazy — we ran out of products. I think people were just looking for a feeling of normalcy and happiness. At first, I didn’t know whether or not people would want Christmas lights, but we ended up having our best year ever. It was phenomenal.”

As the leading holiday decorating brand in the U.S. and Canada, Texas-based Christmas Decor offers customers unique RGB light technology that allows them to change the lights’ colors according to the tone of the holiday. In addition to both residential and commercial Christmas light displays, Christmas Decor’s parent company The Decor Group also offers permanent lighting and event lighting services through its subsidiary, Nite Time Decor.

The world’s leading provider of low-voltage landscape lighting products, Nite Time Decor provides contractors with tools, training, support and products, allowing them to design, install and maintain lighting systems at a professional level.

It’s that know-how that keeps Robinson busy throughout the year. When he’s not taking pre-orders for Christmas lighting, Robinson is busy beautifying the backyards of Abilene. And just like the glistening holiday magic he bestows on private homes and businesses, Robinson transforms backyards into shimmering oases that homeowners value now more than ever.

“So many people haven’t gone on vacations for a long time,” Robinson says. “Instead, they’re spending time in their houses and especially their backyards where they can relax.”

With the right lighting, says Robinson, even a ho-hum outdoor space can be elevated into something sublime. From tiki torches to bistro lighting, path lights to sconce lights, illuminated pergolas and water features, the right lighting package enhances a home’s curb appeal, enriches the beauty of existing architecture and landscaping and upgrades the safety and security of a property.

According to Robinson, because his products use LED lights, customers don’t notice a difference in their electricity bills. In addition, the bulbs are warrantied for seven years, while fixtures and transformers come with a lifetime warranty. And most of the lighting packages can be controlled remotely using a smartphone.

These are just a few of the reasons why Robinson is able to stay on the leading edge of his competition. “We have access to technology, training and resources that our competitors just don’t have,” he says. “When other local landscapers get complicated requests, they tell customers to call Christmas Decor, because they can’t do it. We have the benefit of being able to call other franchises and bounce things off of them.”

One of the biggest trends Robinson is seeing in outdoor lighting is color — and not just red and green for Christmas. “If you want to do red, white and blue for your 4th of July party, we can do that,” he says. “If you want to put a tint of color in your white lights to make your plants pop, we can do that. There are so many possibilities.”

About Christmas Decor

Founded in 1986 by Blake Smith, Christmas Decor has become the leading holiday decorating brand in the U.S. and Canada. Originally created as an off-season supplement to the landscaping business, the Texas-based franchise now brings holiday cheer to over 300 communities across North America, ultimately creating jobs for 3,000-plus seasonal workers that might otherwise be unemployed. Backed by a strong business model and double-digit revenue increase year-over-year for the last 11 years, Christmas Decor is looking to grow in markets across the U.S. and Canada. For more information on Christmas Decor, please visit https://www.christmasdecor.net/franchise/.