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Shopping Centers Today -> May 2003
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HOLIDAY DECOR FIRM IN HUGE DEMAND
BY DEBRA HAZEL
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A mother’s knack for decorating the family Christmas tree has grown into a 200-employee business called Cipolatti, which provides holiday decorations for nearly 90 malls and other facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay, and is looking to expand to Europe.
“My mother used to make beautiful Christmas decorations at home,” recalled Ana Cecília Cipolatti, director of marketing at the São Paulo-based company and daughter of founder Conceição Cipolatti. “Her friends asked if she could make something for them.”
Word got around about Conceição Cipolatti’s skills, eventually reaching the marketing director of BH Shopping, a mall in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, the state north of São Paulo. Conceição Cipolatti was asked to provide the mall’s decorations in 1981. She worked that one time with her sister.
“We were just kids,” so we couldn’t help as much, Ana Cecília Cipolatti recalls.
Conceição incorporated her business immediately, as required by law. Working at night, she created a traditional look using green, red and gold, including a Christmas tree with poinsettias, her daughter said.
The business grew rapidly, and today Cipolatti is the largest holiday decorations company in Brazil, employing about 500 people during the holiday season. Clients include BarraShopping, Rio de Janeiro; Unicenter Shopping, Buenos Aires; and Punta Carretas, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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| Started by a mother with a knack for decorating, Cipolatti now has nearly 90 mall customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. |
Each center will rent a different look, chosen at a 15,000-square-foot showroom that displays more than 180 different themes, ranging from traditional Victorian to contemporary pieces, including licensed decorations using Disney and Warner Bros. cartoon characters. Ana Cecília Cipolatti declined to give sales figures for the company, which remains family-owned.
All a marketing director has to do is visit the showroom, decide on a theme and set a date for installation. Cipolatti can also design and create new themes, including a few decidedly nontraditional ones.
“Once, we made a Christmas tree with recycled [paper] waste,” Ana Cecília Cipolatti said, laughing.
Overall, she says, most centers prefer what North Americans and Europeans consider traditional decorations, despite the fact that Christmas occurs at the beginning of summer in South America. Very few seek a tropical holiday look.
Cipolatti manufactures about 8 percent of its materials, obtaining the rest from around the world, including lights from China, fabric from India, the Philippines and Thailand, and animated figures from France, Germany and the United States.
Technology is all the rage, with centers looking for more animation and “more everything,” Ana Cecília Cipolatti said. “We cannot stop.”
“We” is truly the right word. The entire Cipolatti family, including father Paulo, brothers Luis Paulo and José Fernando, and sister Rita Gabriela are involved in the business. In two or three more years, the company would like to expand to Europe.
“We have great relationships, and we love what we make,” said Ana Cecília Cipollati. “And we believe in Santa Claus.”
 | Current Issue November 2008 |