The Scouse ‘Father Christmas’ who decorated the homes of Liverpool legends from James Milner to Steven Gerrard is expanding his firm to America - creating 1,000 jobs in the process.
Nick and Sarah Bolton’s firm The Christmas Decorators has seen considerable success over the past years, a period that’s seen the start of its US expansion, as well as being nominated as one of three finalists in this month’s British Franchise Awards.
His list of famous clients is endless, and as well as countless football stars from Merseyside and beyond, includes celebrities from Michael McIntyre to Sir Jackie Stewart to Mariah Carey to Steven Spielberg.
Dad-of-two Nick said while the Hunts Cross firm has been operating in the US on a lower level for a few years, a wider expansion programme has now begun.
Nick, 46, said: “We did a pilot in the US to see how everything works as we need to have proof, but now we have got financial evidence to see that the business model works.
“This year our target is to open 50 Christmas decorators’ offices with the help of a really good franchise consultant in the US.
“It’s taken five years of hard work to get where we are now, and a lot of transatlantic travel, but this is the next exciting chapter in our journey.”
Nick said the US expansion process - creating the 1,000 jobs - will take around four years to do.
The husband and wife pair came up with the idea over 15 years ago when they ran a restaurant in Aspen, Colorado.
The couple attracted customers in with bright, sparkly lights at Christmas, with lots of admiring customers asking who had decorated the restaurant.
They told the Liverpool Echo how they sold it after a year and launched The Christmas Decorators .
After years of helping the rich and famous, the couple believe they are ready for the US challenge.
Nick added: “It’s about understanding different cultures, because we may speak the same language, but we are very different cultures to those in the states. You can’t just presume something that works in the UK can be moved over there and work.
“It’s also got to be adapted to the different cultures over in the US, too. The tastes in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas are far different to New York.”
He said because investing money into more elaborate Christmas decorations was “a done thing” in the US, “we don’t have that same hurdle as we had in the UK”, meaning the couple anticipate a smooth transition.
The lucrative business sees mansion-owning clients paying on average £5,000 to £15,000, while the biggest pay £30,000.
They will attend the British Franchise Awards later this month where they hope to pick up the Franchiser of the Year award after being put in a shortlist of three from an original 900 entries.
Nick added: “We have created over 300 jobs for people across the UK and are looking forward to making plenty more.”
