Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 4, 1990 TAG: 9007040132
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium
"It's been a banner year, and that's not just a flag company joke," said Steve Sevits, vice president of sales for the Uneeda Flag company near Albany.
By Independence Day, the flag season is in full swing. But it's not just the traditionally patriotic holidays - Memorial Day, Flag Day, Presidents Day and the Fourth of July - that accelerate sales.
Flag companies say the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling against state laws that ban burning of the American flag also has boosted sales.
"The flag-burning issue got the patriotic movement going again," said David Liberman, president of the Valley Forge Flag Co. in Great Neck. "People became more conscious of it and went out and bought a flag. Retail stores even increased their stock."
Sevits says his company's sales were up 17 percent this year.
"People are seeing more flags around so they want one," he said.
Sales of fire-retardant flags also are up. Sevits said he sells truckloads of flags made from Koralex, a polyester fiber that resists burning.
"Not only are they fire retardant, but they also float in the breeze instead of snap. Snapping wears out a flag more quickly," he said.
Sevits estimated that a flag displayed outdoors typically will last 10 to 15 years, depending on weather conditions.
Flag industry sales figures are hard to come by, because most companies are privately owned and manufacturers and dealers are reluctant to disclose figures. But flag dealers and others in the industry generally say sales have been rising for more than a decade.
"I've been selling flags for 13 years and I've seen sales go up each year," said David Jolly, owner of D&M Merchandisers Inc. in Cohoes. "I think patriotism is the reason for the increase."
Business began booming for many flag companies in the mid-1970s as the nation prepared to celebrate the 1976 Bicentennial, Liberman said.
"It was the biggest flag-selling period in history," he said.
Sales escalated in 1979 with the taking of American hostages in Iran. The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the 1984 and 1988 presidential elections and the flag-burning issue have continued boosting sales, Liberman said. He said flag sales reflect the political state of affairs more than economics.
"Patriotism is cool now, so sales are good," Liberman said.
Valley Forge sells millions of flags of various types each year at prices ranging from $1 to $2,000, said Liberman, who has worked for 20 years at the company his grandfather started after World War I.
The company sells American flags, state flags, flags of other nations and custom flags and banners. Seventy percent of its business is in sales of Old Glory, Liberman said.
He said 10 percent to 15 percent of all U.S. households own American flags.
Sevits declined to release sales figures for his company. He said Uneeda Flag sells thousands of flags to customers in New York, New England and Hawaii and has provided flags for exhibits in Alaska and Europe.
The 3- by 5-foot American flag models, the biggest sellers, cost $25 to $30. Sevits said customers who buy that size generally will spend another $300 for a 20-foot flagpole.
He said his most expensive flag, which measures 30 by 60 feet, sells for $2,000. But there isn't great demand for it.
"I guess you'd use one of those on an aircraft carrier if you're heading into Beirut," he said.
by CNB