EXTRA: Fireworks Stands

Summary

The Economics of Everyday Things: EXTRA: Fireworks Stands

Release Date: July 2, 2025
Host: Zachary Crockett
Produced by: Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

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Introduction

In this special bonus episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, journalist Zachary Crockett delves into the vibrant and explosive world of fireworks stands. Building on a previous episode about large-scale fireworks displays, Crockett explores the often-overlooked side of the fireworks industry: the temporary stands that light up parking lots and roadside areas each summer.

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The Fireworks Industry: Display vs. Consumer Fireworks

Zachary Crockett begins by distinguishing between two primary segments of the fireworks market:

• Display Fireworks: These are the massive, professionally orchestrated shows that light up the skies during events like the 4th of July. Valued at approximately $600 million annually, this sector focuses on large-scale productions.

• Consumer Fireworks: Surprisingly larger in scale, consumer fireworks sales reach about $2.2 billion each year. These are the fireworks purchased by individuals for personal celebrations.

Notable Quote:

"The consumer side is actually a way bigger part of the fireworks industry than the display stuff. We're talking about $2.2 billion in annual sales."
— Zachary Crockett [03:09]

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Fantom Fireworks: A Case Study

To gain deeper insights, Crockett interviews Alex Zoldin, Vice President of Fantom Fireworks, one of the largest consumer fireworks retailers in the United States. Founded by Alex's father, Bruce Zoldin, in 1972, Fantom has grown from a family-run business into a national powerhouse with approximately 1,500 temporary stands across the country.

Historical Context:

• 1970s Regulation: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began regulating consumer fireworks, enhancing safety standards by strengthening bases and lengthening fuses. This regulatory environment transformed fireworks from a "shady business" into a more legitimate and safer industry.

Notable Quote:

"When my dad was younger... It started off as a fun thing, and he was doing it to pay his way through college."
— Alex Zoldin [04:08]

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Regulations and Safety Across States

Fireworks legality varies significantly across the United States, influencing the types of fireworks available and where they can be sold:

• Permissive States (e.g., Missouri): Allow year-round sales of consumer fireworks.
• Restrictive States (e.g., Massachusetts): Prohibit possession entirely.
• Moderate States: Limit types of fireworks, such as only allowing sparklers or fountains.

Notable Quote:

"California is a place where something might be open for four days... It's an important part of their marketing strategy."
— Alex Zoldin [07:14]

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Marketing and Branding Strategies

Fantom Fireworks employs creative and engaging marketing strategies to attract consumers:

• Product Naming: Names like "Wicked Pissa," "Saloon Showdown," and "Grounds for Divorce" add personality and memorability to their offerings.
• Visual Branding: Designed by Alex's mother, the packaging features vibrant, colorful, and bright designs to evoke a carnival-like atmosphere.

Notable Quote:

"When you walk into our store, we want you to feel kind of a carnival like feel."
— Alex Zoldin [09:12]

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Supply Chain and Operations

The majority of consumer fireworks are imported from China, accounting for over 90% of global production. Fantom Fireworks manages a complex supply chain involving:

• Large Shipments: Ordering approximately 1,040-foot shipping containers annually, each holding 800 to 1,000 cases of fireworks.
• Warehousing: Maintaining multiple warehouses across the country to ensure timely distribution.
• Seasonal Preparation: Completing orders well in advance to mitigate disruptions and ensure availability for the seasonal peak.

Notable Quote:

"It's an art that's been passed down for generations... Everything is made there."
— Alex Zoldin [09:29]

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Economics and Profitability

Operating fireworks stands involves significant overhead costs, including:

• Licensing and Permits: Varies by state and location, often expensive.
• Insurance: Approximately $300 per stand per season.
• Setup Costs: Shelves, tarps, and other infrastructure.
• Labor: Staffing during the short, intense sales period.

Despite these costs, fireworks stands can be lucrative:

• Sales Volume: Some stands generate up to $100,000 in just two to three days.
• Profit Margins: Typically around 20%, translating to substantial profits from gross sales.

Notable Quote:

"I've seen stands that could do $100,000 in a two or three day period."
— Alex Zoldin [16:07]

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Nonprofit Partnerships

Fantom Fireworks uniquely collaborates with over 1,000 nonprofit organizations to operate their stands. These partnerships involve:

• Operational Support: Fantom handles licensing, setup, and product delivery.
• Revenue Sharing: Nonprofits run the stands and keep approximately 20% of the profits, which fund their activities and initiatives.

Notable Quote:

"Every single one of them is nonprofit. And it's one of their largest fundraisers throughout the year."
— Alex Zoldin [17:01]

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Conclusion

Zachary Crockett's exploration reveals that fireworks stands are a significant, albeit seasonal, component of the broader fireworks industry. Through strategic marketing, efficient supply chains, and creative partnerships with nonprofits, companies like Fantom Fireworks successfully navigate the challenges of this explosive business. The episode underscores how everyday businesses, even those as fleeting as a summer fireworks stand, play a pivotal role in celebrating national traditions and creating lasting memories.

Final Thoughts from Hosts:

"When you are lighting fireworks, you're celebrating your country, your family, who you are... creating great memories with their families."
— Alex Zoldin [17:53]

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Produced by Zachary Crockett and Sarah Lilly
Mixed by Jeremy Johnston
Additional Assistance By: Daniel Moritz Rapson

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Transcript

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[Zachary Crockett]

A couple weeks ago, we made an episode on fireworks shows. We broke down how pyrotechnics companies orchestrate those big 4th of July shows for cities and towns. But there's another side to the fireworks business that our senior producer, Sarah Lilly was curious about.

[Sarah Lilly]

You know, every year in the couple weeks before the 4th of July, all these fireworks stands and tents pop up all over the country on the sides of roads and in parking lots, and they're there for like a week and then disappear.

[Zachary Crockett]

You in the market for some fireworks?

[Sarah Lilly]

God, no. I actually hate fireworks.

[Zachary Crockett]

Really?

[Sarah Lilly]

Well, I have dogs, so you know how that goes.

[Zachary Crockett]

Okay.

[Sarah Lilly]

Anyway, I've just always wondered who runs these stands and how they make money.

[Zachary Crockett]

So to answer this question, I decided to call up a guy who knows pretty much everything about the business.

[Alex Zoldin]

Alex Zoldin. And I'm the vice president here at Fantom.

[Zachary Crockett]

Phantom is one of the largest consumer fireworks retailers in America.

[Alex Zoldin]

We have about 1500 temporary pop up tents and stands that go up from Hawaii, California to New York and down to Florida. We're in almost every state and then also we do about four big box stores, so Menards, Home Depot, Giant Eagle.

[Zachary Crockett]

For the Freakonomics radio network, this is the economics of everyday things. I'm Zachary Crockett. Today we've got a special bonus episode for you on fireworks stands.

[Sarah Lilly]

Zach, a few weeks ago, you told us about the fireworks shows that cities and towns put on. And I Want to know how does that relate to the kinds of fireworks that regular people do in their own backyards?

[Zachary Crockett]

So you've kind of got two parts to the fireworks business. On one side you have the display fireworks. That's about a $600 million a year industry. The other part is consumer fireworks, and that's the stuff that's sold to the general public. And the consumer stuff is actually a way bigger part of the fireworks industry than the display stuff. We're talking about $2.2 billion in annual sales. Here's Alex Soldin.

[Alex Zoldin]

Well, you know, the display side is awesome, and there's some great people on that side with long family traditions of doing big shows throughout our country. But there's a lot more backyards in our country, and there's a lot of people that have parties in their backyards for the fourth of July and barbecues. We focus on supplying those people and building those family traditions.

[Zachary Crockett]

There are hundreds of retailers who make a business out of this every year. Many are just small mom and pop operations, but Phantom Fireworks operates nationally. The company was started by Alex's dad, Bruce, back in 1972.

[Alex Zoldin]

When my dad was younger, his father, my grandfather, was a salesman and he would travel on the road and sell to grocery stores. And he 1 4th of July brought home some fireworks. My dad turned around and sold it to all the kids in the neighborhood and said, I need to go get some more fireworks. It started off as a fun thing, and he was doing it to pay his way through college. Back then there was a bootleg business. It was not something that was legitimized. There was people who would wholesale to somebody and they made their way up to different parts of the country.

[Zachary Crockett]

So fireworks were kind of a shady business. You never really knew if you were going to get a dud or if the firework would blow up in your face. But in the 1970s, that began to change. Congress set up this agency called the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. And they started regulating consumer fireworks and making them a little safer. They made the bases stronger and the fuses longer.

[Alex Zoldin]

I remember watching fireworks and someone say, oh, there's a dud. Well, we don't really see duds anymore. Things are made so much more efficient than ever before. And it's because of all the standards that have been put in place in.

[Zachary Crockett]

The last few decades, the consumer fireworks industry has, let's just say it's skyrocketed. Just to put things into perspective, in 1976, around 29 million pounds of fireworks were ignited in America. Today we're talking almost £300 million.

[Sarah Lilly]

I'm always confused about whether they're legal, though.

[Zachary Crockett]

Well, it's a great question, and there are sort of two sides to the answer when it comes to using them, it really depends what state you're in. If you live in Missouri, you can launch all kinds of consumer fireworks year round. In Massachusetts, it's illegal to possess any fireworks. And in between those extremes, there are states where you can only light certain types, like sparklers or fountains. Different states also have different laws about selling consumer fireworks, what kind a retailer can offer and where they can sell them. But in a lot of places, a company like Fantom can pay for a license from a state fire marshal, lease a plot of land, and open a stand for the season.

[Sarah Lilly]

But are the fireworks in these stands the same ones you see at professional shows?

[Zachary Crockett]

Not exactly. Here's Alex Soldin the displays that you.

[Alex Zoldin]

See in New York city or Washington, D.C. or at concerts or sporting events, it's a different type of product. The type of powder and how it's detonated is different. When it comes to the consumer side, we're limited on how big. It's just under three inches. And no single item will have more than 500 grams of composition.

[Sarah Lilly]

Huh. Okay, so less powerful than the ones you see in professional shows.

[Zachary Crockett]

That's right. But Sultan told me that some of them still pack a pretty big punch. You just have to live in the right states to be able to get your hands on them.

[Alex Zoldin]

There are different classifications of products. California, for example, is a state that is what they call safe and sane. All products are ground based. They don't go up in the air. They're fountains, smoke bombs, things like that. A fountain doesn't have anything that bursts. There's no real loud true bang. It emits sparks, and it won't go higher than 10ft or wider than 10ft. So with all the people in California, the dry climate, everything is safe and sane. Back east Michigan, they're full line. And full line is the things that go up in the air. The firecrackers, Roman candles, they're a little bit more exciting. Bigger bangs. My favorite item in our store and any of them is an aerial item called the fandomonium. It's a 205 shot panoramic display. And it starts off one at a time and then goes into a rapid fire that goes back and forth, creating a panoramic effect in the sky. A lot of colors, noise. Another item is the racks where you have nine big shots. They're kind of like the finale pieces that have the biggest burst over top. And they're probably the closest thing to display fireworks that you're going to find in a consumer store.

[Zachary Crockett]

If you walk into a Phantom fireworks stand in one of the more permissive states, you'll see all kinds of crazy stuff for sale. And they get really creative with the names. Take a look at this list of products I found online.

[Sarah Lilly]

There's a 30 shot, 200 gram repeater called Wicked Pissa.

[Zachary Crockett]

Wicked Pissa.

[Sarah Lilly]

Wicked Pissa.

[Zachary Crockett]

Yeah. You've got Saloon Showdown, King Midas Touch. I think my favorite one here is this assortment package called Grounds for Divorce. And really this is an important part of their marketing strategy. It has to be very loud and in your face. And that goes for the packaging too. It was actually all designed by Alex's mom.

[Alex Zoldin]

You know, vibrant, colorful, bright. When you walk into our store, we want you to feel kind of a carnival like feel.

[Sarah Lilly]

And where does Phantom procure all these fireworks?

[Zachary Crockett]

So almost every firework you'll find in America is imported from China. Zolden says that this has to do with things like safety regulations and the cost of labor, but it also has to do with tradition.

[Alex Zoldin]

It's an art that's been passed down for generations. The chemical compounds that go into it are there, everything's there. The clay that goes into the base of these products come right out of the mountains there. And it's very much a handmade process. And they produce, I want to say, 90% or more of all the fireworks in the world. And from the consumer side, I'd venture to say it's probably 99%. Everything is made there.

[Zachary Crockett]

Some of the smaller fireworks stands will buy their products from a middleman wholesaler. But the big guys like Fantom ship their own fireworks over. They order around 1,040 foot shipping containers a year. And one shipping container, by the way, has anywhere from 800 to 1000 cases of fireworks in it.

[Alex Zoldin]

From the time it leaves China to get here, it could be six weeks. There's only certain types of vessels that you can get product on, certain ports that you can come in. And then once they're here, obviously there's regulations on how you ship them and where you ship them. So we have a big warehouse here in Ohio. We have another five or six throughout the country that we ship to. And we come into a few of the different ports throughout the country. Our orders are already in by July for next year because there are disruptions. We always want to be ahead of the game and have things ready to.

[Sarah Lilly]

Go okay, that seems like a lot of overhead. And these stands are only open a few days a year. So now I'm really curious how these places make money.

[Zachary Crockett]

Well, Alex Zolden, he's got you covered. But first, a quick break.

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[Zachary Crockett]

Phantom Fireworks has sort of a three pronged approach to selling its fireworks. The company actually has around 100 brick and mortar stores that are allowed to operate year round. In certain states. They sell their products wholesale to other big box stores, and then they have 1500 temporary stands and tents all over the country every summer. Alex Solden says that across all of those channels, nearly all of the revenue is made around the 4th of July.

[Alex Zoldin]

I would say 80% of our entire year sales are one month.

[Zachary Crockett]

In some states, it's sort of by decree. They're only allowed to operate a stand for a few days or a week maybe. But even in places where they don't have limitations, the demand is really seasonal. It's just one of those products that most people only think about during the fourth of July.

[Alex Zoldin]

California is a place where something might be open for four days. Other parts could be one week. There's other states that allow you to open whenever you want. But if you try to sell Fireworks in November in Michigan, you're not going to get too many takers. So the demand comes on so strong and then goes away that somewhat forces our hand in that area.

[Zachary Crockett]

Selling thousands of fireworks in a couple days in the middle of summer is not for the faint of heart.

[Alex Zoldin]

It's usually very hot. It's very high intensity. People line up, they're there all day long. It's a brutal run, but it's like a month and a few days. Honestly, our business is 90 plus percent planning and 10 executing. And people say, what do you do in the off season? Well, we really don't have an off season because as soon as the 4th's over, we're already looking at next year.

[Zachary Crockett]

And the business has a surprising amount of overhead. You've got the cost of goods, import fees, shipping, storage, all the stuff we talked about before. And then you also have to rent the land.

[Alex Zoldin]

We're in a number of different places. It could be a lot on the side of the road. It could be in a shopping mall parking lot, a grocery store parking lot. It's a temporary leased portion of land that usually is a one month period. Even though the prime season is one week or two weeks or something like that.

[Zachary Crockett]

Each stand needs insurance that'll set you back, let's say 300 bucks or so per stand per season. You have to buy all the shelves and the tarps and the stuff to set up the stand. You have labor and you have the licenses, which, depending on where you're operating, can be very expensive.

[Sarah Lilly]

So what's the move to make all that money back?

[Zachary Crockett]

Well, for starters, the markup at your typical fireworks stand is around three times the wholesale price. A lot of regular customers online say they've seen markups as high as five times or more in some cases. But these stands will also run constant promotions to get attention. You'll see things like buy one, get two free. Their strategy often is basically to boost prices and then put everything on sale. And because, as Zoldin says, there's a ceiling on how much people are willing to pay.

[Alex Zoldin]

It's not something that you need, you know, it's something that you enjoy as Americans to celebrate our birthday. And we'll go through extreme lengths to celebrate it. But there's certainly a price sensitivity that comes along with anything like that.

[Sarah Lilly]

So how much business can these stands do in just a couple days?

[Zachary Crockett]

Well, Zoltan says it really depends on.

[Alex Zoldin]

I've seen stands that could do $100,000 in a two or three day period. And there's some that could do, you know, $10,000 a day. It's all relative to the area and the stand.

[Zachary Crockett]

I talked to a few other people who run fireworks stands in states like Texas, Missouri, and Kentucky just to get a range of answers on this. And the consensus is that most stands pull in between $25,000 and $60,000 during the Fourth of July season.

[Sarah Lilly]

Sales.

[Zachary Crockett]

Yep, that's just gross sales.

[Sarah Lilly]

So what do we think the profits are?

[Zachary Crockett]

A lot of stand owners say that if they net around 20%, that's a pretty good outcome. So let's say you sell $50,000 worth of fireworks in a week, you'll walk away with about 10,000 bucks in your pocket. But at Fantom, there's kind of an interesting twist to this. A lot of their stands are run by nonprofits.

[Alex Zoldin]

There's probably close to 1000 stands that we run in California, and every single one of them is nonprofit. And it's one of their largest fundraisers throughout the year. So there's 1,000 plus nonprofits that we work with. They range from veteran groups to church groups to cheerleading groups. We do all the legwork, we get the licensing, we set up the stands, we deliver the product, and they run it, and they share in the profits with us.

[Zachary Crockett]

So that's your leading team. They run the stand for free. And in return, the team gets to keep, let's say, something like 20% of the profits. They might buy their uniforms and pay for their tournaments with fireworks.

[Sarah Lilly]

Oh, my God. That is so American.

[Zachary Crockett]

Well, in Alex Zoldin's mind, it's about as American as you can get.

[Alex Zoldin]

When you are lighting fireworks, you're celebrating your country, your family, who you are. It comes all in one holiday. And people are creating great memories with their families, days that they'll think of the rest of their life.

[Zachary Crockett]

So I have to ask Sarah, do you like fireworks a little more now?

[Sarah Lilly]

Well, Zach, I do love to change my mind, but you're gonna have to talk to the dogs. And I already know what they're gonna say.

[Zachary Crockett]

For the economics of everyday things, I'm Zachary Crockett. This episode was produced by me and Sarah Lilly and mixed by Jeremy Johnston. We had help from Daniel Moritz Rapson.

[Alex Zoldin]

My finale at home. I like to put the fandom up front with a big nine shot rack behind. Light them almost simultaneously and you have a ground to top display that's hard to beat.

[Sarah Lilly]

The Freakonomics Radio Network. The hidden side of everything.

[Zachary Crockett]

Stitcher.

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