For Chicago-based decorator Culture Studio (asi/532911), a recent expansion into Daytona Beach, FL, is part of its master plan to enable two-day ground shipping anywhere in the U.S. for its clients.

“We wanted to go somewhere first and foremost that doesn’t become -12 degrees part of the year,” jokes Rich Santo, CEO of the contract decorator that specializes in making branded merch for touring musicians. “We’ve always loved Florida. There’s just an incredible buzz. We knew this was the type of energy that we were looking for.”

Culture Studio opened a decoration facility in Daytona Beach, FL, last year.

Last April, Culture Studio closed on the 75,000-square-foot warehouse space in the Sunshine State, and by June, they’d already printed their first shirt in the new facility. By November, the decorator had hired 45 people to work in Daytona Beach. Coupled with the 150 who work in its Chicago shop, Culture Studio is closing in on 200 employees and expects to surpass that number this summer.

“We kind of were able to jump right in,” Santo says of the expansion. “Everything went our way.” He noted that the seller let Culture Studio complete permits before closing, and as soon as the transaction was complete, Santo had the power company come on site to help get things up and running.

Currently, Culture Studio is occupying about 20% of its new digs. “We’re still stretching our legs there,” Santo says. “It’s just a massive space.” He adds that the building has several dozen private offices included that Culture Studio is planning to lease out to create a multi-tenant collaborative space.

Culture Studio is using about 20% of the 75,000-square-foot Daytona Beach facility, but continues to grow into the space with more apparel decorating equipment.

Culture Studio has said it’s making major investments into decorating equipment at the Daytona facility, with areas for dye sublimation, heat transfer and specialty decoration methods, as well as retail-ready finishing services like folding/bagging, inside tag printing and more. Santo notes that they’re in the midst of installing a sixth automatic screen-printing press at the facility. “Everything is really humming over there,” he adds.

Business, overall, has been booming for Culture Studio. The decorator doubled its revenue from 2021 to 2022, according to Santo, and he’s “planning and prepping for significant growth this year,” too.

“The music industry seems to be really, really strong,” Santo adds.

In addition to helping Culture Studio reach its two-day shipping ambitions, the Daytona Beach facility gives the decorator some flexibility and built-in redundancy in case of natural disasters or other unforeseen circumstances. When Hurricane Ian swept through the state last fall, Culture Studio was able to pull all of its jobs back to Chicago, without customers even noticing a difference. By contrast when a semi-truck backed into a power pole in Chicago a few years ago, knocking out the decorator’s power for two days, Culture Studio was out of luck until power was restored, Santo explains.

As Culture Studio continues to build out its new manufacturing facility, Santo is already thinking about the next phase of growth: opening a facility somewhere on the West Coast. “That will pretty much cover two-day ground shipping anywhere in the U.S.,” he adds.

For promotional products companies looking at expanding their own operations, Santo has a few pieces of advice.

1

Do Your Research

Before you commit to growth – whether it’s adding a second shift of workers, expanding your square footage or moving into a new building – list out the pros and cons of the decision. When Culture Studio decided to expand into Florida, it wasn’t just because of the warm weather, though that was a plus. The move helped it further its strategic plan of offering two-day ground shipping. “Picking the right place is important,” Santo says. “Chicago is not as welcoming to businesses as a place like Daytona. They were really, really happy for us to be a part of the community.”

2

Work With Trusted Partners

It would have been less expensive to hire local contractors to build out Culture Studio’s Daytona Beach facility, but Santo decided to stick with the Chicago tradespeople he’d been working with for years. He asked his contractors to move their team down to Florida for 60 days to complete construction. “It was definitely a little more costly,” Santo says, adding that “They did an absolutely incredible job.”

3

Become a Part of the Community

If you’re moving or expanding into a new state – or even just a few towns over – it’s a smart idea to introduce yourselves to the community, from the local government to the Chamber of Commerce and beyond. “We just leaped right in and contacted everybody that was possible,” Santo says. When it came time to get occupancy permits and other certifications, the process ran smoothly because everyone knew who Culture Studio was and the value they would bring to the region.

4

Listen to Your Gut

One regret Santo has about the big move was following bankers’ advice to roll some of the construction costs into the mortgage, even though he didn’t need that extra cash right away. That change prolonged the deal by three months and resulted in two more percentage points of interest, because of how rates continued to rise. “Not having a lot of experience purchasing commercial real estate at this level, I trusted what the pros told me rather than what I felt was right, what my gut told me as a street entrepreneur,” Santo says.

That’s not to say you should never listen to the experts, he adds, but realize that they won’t always know as well as you what’s best for your company and your unique situation.