photo by clare jensen
ECKO AUGKHOPINEE, 10, HELPS ADVERTISE HIS FAMILY’S STAND – #30 – AT FIRECRACKER ALLEY JULY 3. A tough economy causes some customers to cut back on frivolous expenses, such as the large-scale firework packs below, impacting profits for stand owners.
Seasonal fireworks sales have long been a moneymaking tradition for many families who sell the festive pyrotechnics each summer.
In past years, coming home with thousands of dollars July 5 was a common thing for tribal fireworks stand owners who would sell at off-sites, or in the Puyallup Tribe’s multi-stand location Firecracker Alley, prior to the Independence Day holiday.
William Manzanares IV is vice chairman of the Fireworks Commission and has been on the commission for 10 years. He also is a fireworks stand owner.
“I just know it was a lot slower this year,” he said July 6. “Fireworks are a luxury item for people. When it’s bad economic times, people just aren’t going to choose fireworks over other (holiday expenses).”
Business began taking the plunge last year, making the 2009 season one of the first where stand owners struggled to make a profit.
This year, less fireworks stands were open compared to 2009. About 10 less stand owners were selling this year than last at the multi-stand location at the old Emerald Queen Casino Riverboat location on Lincoln Avenue.
William Manzanares noted this was also the first year the commission advertised the locations of all stands, including off-site businesses, not just the Firecracker Alley location.
“Off-sites had been stuck on their own for advertising for years,” he said.
But of the 63 stand owners at Firecracker Alley this year, there were mixed opinions of how business was doing. The Alley does have an advantage of being an established location – it has been more or less a one-stop-shop for fireworks consumers for more than a decade – but the side-by-side vending also can increase competition between stand owners.
The Augkhopinee family has been selling at Firecracker Alley for four years.
Azure Augkhopinee said that a lack of clientele has made the 2010 season less profitable than years past, but that her family’s stand was still doing “awesome.”
Shawn Toledo has been working the fireworks business for 17 years, and this season was her first time setting up shop at Firecracker Alley. She usually operates an off-site stand on Valley Avenue, but a current road closure prompted her to relocate. She was less than enthusiastic about the impact of the economy on her sales this year.
“Five years ago we would easily make $7,000 a piece,” she said. On July 3, with one more day open for business, Shawn
Toledo admitted her stand had not
broken even yet.
She noted that in addition to a tough economy causing families to cut back on spending, local jurisdictions’ fireworks restrictions has hurt the business as well.
The Tribe hosts designated locations, like at the parking lot at the old Riverboat Casino, where customers can legally and safely light off their fireworks
after purchasing them. Many rural areas do not have strict fireworks rules, but Tacoma and Fife, the two cities that the Puyallup Reservation sits on, enforce restrictive fireworks laws.
“The hardest part is when the city is against you,” she said. “People are afraid to buy stuff if they can’t even light it off.”
