Jul
2
Current troubles in the White House are damping flag sales for some. “I see some softening in flag sales as Reagan’s popularity declines and patriotic enthusiasm wanes,” says William Spangler of Dettra Flag Co., Oaks, PA. The 200th birthday of the Constitution hasn’t helped sales “as much as we’d hoped,” says William Sweigart of Bux-Mont Flag Poles, Horsesham, PA. The Flag Store in Dallas pegs its 25% sales decline to oil-patch economic woes.
U.S. flags remain the mainstay of the flag business, with corporations, states and local governments the major buyers. the latest trend in flag buying: Some business, particularly car dealers, are erecting 50-foot poles and flying oversized flags as a form of advertising. The message: “Buy America,” says Kerry Thompson of Arkansas Flag and Banner in Little Rock.
Homeowners are a less important market, with only one out of eight homes flying flags, says Jack Casey of Betsy Ross Flag Girls, Alburquerque, N.M.