Christmas tree lots bouncing back?

By Buck Wargo

Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 | 3 a.m.

Even Christmas trees aren’t immune to the Great Recession.

Everyone’s aware of how the recession has cut into the gaming business, slowed commercial real estate development and curtailed retail sales.

But high employment and more price-conscious consumers have some families going without a Christmas tree or finding the cheapest alternative. Others are even choosing to buy artificial trees and forgo the yearly expense of a live tree.

That cuts into the business of the small, independent Christmas tree lots that pop up across the valley the day after Thanksgiving. More than 40 lots are believed to be operating in the area, many with an owner who operates anywhere from one to five.

They’re part of the seasonal economy in Las Vegas in which undeveloped lots or parking lots at retail centers are transformed with fencing and tents to house Christmas trees and, in many cases, pumpkin patches in October as well.

The profession employs college students and many laborers and other construction workers who don’t have jobs.

Many lot owners hope this Christmas is better than it was in 2008 and 2009 at the height of the recession. That prompted Linda Maplethorpe, owner of Frosty’s Christmas Trees (frostyschristmastrees.com) to shutter one of her three locations the past two years.

Maplethorpe is back with three lots this year.

The business is a family tradition for Maplethorpe, whose dad, Louie Boughman, opened his first Christmas tree lot in 1947.

Maplethorpe, 58, sold trees on her dad’s lot as a girl. Even when she recently sold her tree trimming business, she decided to keep the lots.

“I love it. It’s in my blood,” said Maplethorpe, who said the tree lots are a source of income along with her investments.

Maplethorpe said she’s hoping for a rebound in the business after it dropped 20 percent in 2008 and again in 2009 as Las Vegas struggled through the recession. She’s had to cut her prices to compete against the Home Depot’s and other box retailers who she says offer tree of lower quality trees at cheaper prices.

“I think it’s going to be better this year,” Maplethorpe said. “It’s starting out pretty strong.”

The weak economy prompted Maplethorpe to cancel her pumpkin patch lots in recent years because it’s “too much work” simply to break even, she said.

Setting up a tree lot isn’t as easy as it sounds and requires a large investment. Renting lots can run $8,000 to $10,000 on average, and there’s a need for insurance, she said. Fencing, lighting, a generator and tents add to the cost, and permits are required from local governments that cost a couple of thousand dollars. In addition, the state requires sales tax payments be made upfront, she said.

“You just can’t pop up and do this,” said Maplethorpe, who has a tree farm in Oregon. “Those people come and go. Some people think you go up in the hills and cut down these trees. They’re grown on a farm like tomato plants.”

One of Maplethorpe’s competitors is Stu Miller’s Christmas Trees, which has five locations (stumillerstrees.com).

Rob Lambert was partners with Miller until he bought the rights to the lots 10 years ago. It’s a year-round operation with an office in Los Angeles (where Lambert has 20 Southern California tree lots as well). He even operates pumpkin patches on his lots because the Halloween business is growing faster than Christmas, he said.

Lambert, who uses his office to oversee his investments, including owning a tree farm in Oregon, is a former homebuilder in Oregon who had to put that business on hold like many other small builders during the recession.

Lambert said Southern California is a better market for independent lot sellers than Las Vegas because there’s less competition. Southern California doesn’t have the undeveloped parcels in which to put lots that Las Vegas does, and Las Vegas has something Los Angeles doesn’t, he said.

“It seems like there’s a Home Depot and Lowe’s on every corner in Las Vegas,” Lambert said. “We’ve lowered prices every year, and they’re down 30 to 35 percent from where they were because the economy is bad, and you’re trying to compete. That has helped us to be successful and increase sales.”

Each lot sells about 2,000 trees, he said.

Staying competitive pricewise is important because more people are switching to artificial trees to avoid paying for a tree every year and having to dispose of them afterward. An eight-foot real tree costs about $70 compared with $200 or more for an artificial tree, he said.

“If you look at the past to determine the future, you’d say this industry isn’t going to be around because of artificial trees and government regulations,” Lambert said. “The (permit) fees are three, four and five times more than they used to be.”

For Steve Phillips, a Clark County firefighter, the idea to run a tree lot came from a friend who asked him to manage one that he started 20 years ago. Phillips started his own right after that.

Phillip’s Deerbrooke Farm lot (deerbrookefarm.com) at 6651 W. Charleston Blvd. is his holiday venture when he’s not working as a firefighter. Phillips bought the property seven years ago as an investment and uses it for his tree operations.

Phillips said the tree business is rebounding with the economy. After traditionally selling about 1,850 trees a year, sales fell to 1,350 two years ago and picked up to 1,500 last year, the same amount he expects to sell again this year.

“They’ll go without if they can’t afford it, and we hit bottom two years ago, but we’re on the upswing now,” Phillips said.

That’s what Max McKee is hoping for. The owner of McKee Ranch, 8982 Dean Martin Drive, is going all in this holiday season.

McKee, who uses the proceeds from his tree sales to support his ranch that’s open to the public (mckeeranchevents.com) jumped into the tree business big time this year.

After securing 30 trees last year, McKee decided to take on 700 trees this year.

“We didn’t know quite what we were doing last year, but we thought we would give it a shot,” McKee said.

Another newcomer to the Las Vegas market is Mike Sturdevant, owner of Affordable Christmas Trees who has a lot at Green Valley Ranch and Warm Springs Road and at Horizon Ridge Parkway and Horizon Drive.

Sturdevant, a union carpenter who moved from Los Angeles to work at CityCenter, said his family operated 16 tree lots in California before selling them in 2003.

He said he decided to jump back in the business by opening two lots to provide work for his nephews.

“I did it as a family thing,” Sturdevant said. “They wanted to give it a try and see if we can sell a lot of trees here.”