Best Selling Fourth of July Fireworks
Fireworks are as much a part of Fourth of July celebrations as a backyard barbecue or a local parade, but it’s also big business.
The fireworks industry has more than doubled — both in usage and revenues in the past several years — thanks in part to relaxed laws in many states and changes in federal guidelines, with fireworks now legal in 45 American states.
The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA), the industry’s trade association, expects revenues to reach an all-time high of $960 million in 2009, 85-90% of which results from Fourth of July sales. “Fourth of July is the bread, butter, meat and potatoes of the industry,” says Julie Heckman, director of the APA.
So what are the best selling fireworks in America? Phantom Fireworks, the nation’s largest retailer of consumer “backyard” fireworks has provided CNBC insight into the fireworks which are currently their best-selling items. Click ahead to see the company’s best sellers!
By Paul Toscano
Posted 1 July 2009
Aerial Avalanche
Price: $89.99
Color: Silver/Green
Effect: Brocade/Willow, Strobe, Crackle
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
The main draw to the Aerial Avalanche are the strobe effects. A green strobing tail shoots first, followed by a silver strobing tail crackling. Green and silver strobe willows alternate to a crackle willow finale, topped off by a green crackle.
Da Bomb
Price: $159.99
Color: Multicolor
Effect: Mega-Bursts, crackle, glitter, peonies
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
The shells in this item break open bigger than the typical 500-gram repeater. There are nine different colors and break patters. The nine mega-bursts including: gold willow to red; gold willow to green; silver twinkling willow to green; brocade to crackle; green to crackle; gold willow-green glitter; primrose-silver glitter; red dahlia-silver chrysanthemums; and silver peony to red.
Double Take Finale
Price: $159.99
Color: Multicolor, Gold
Effect: Brocade/Willow, Crackle, Loud Sound
Category: Aerials: Tubes, Mines, Shells
Double break rack featuring assorted peony effects with glitter centers and a color crackling barrage finale. Consistent with Phantom's Safety Guidelines, it is recommended that spectators be 100 yards from the launch site.
Grucci High Performance Display
Price: $119.99
Color: Multicolor
Effect: Falling leaf, brocade finale, flying fish, comet tails
Category: Aerials: Repeaters/Cakes
The High Performance Display is 500 powerful grams of green glitter, gold crackle flying fish and falling leaf effects with a brocade finale. The finale of three shots fire simultaneously, which have gold comet tails and end in huge gold willow bursts, which break hard and sparkle as they spread out. The effect is similar to the "kamuro" type of willow break seen in professional displays.
Komodo 3000
Price: $199.99
Color: Multicolor
Effect: Gold comets, peonies and whistling, flying fish
Category: Aerials: Repeaters/Cakes
Physically one of the largest consumer cakes ever made, with a length of about 28 inches, a width of 16 inches and a height of about 7-1/2 inches. Plenty of gold comets, mixed in with some silver and blue peonies with beautiful bursts of red, green, and silver heads, as well as blue stars and flying fish. It fires 119 shots in 58 seconds, with variable-height shots sent in alternating directions across the sky.
Phandemonium
Price: $179.99
Color: Red/White/Blue
Effect: Crackle
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
One of the most popular finale pieces, the company claims, the Z-style aerial repeater launches 205 shots into the sky, moving rapidly from left to right. The Z-style aerial repeater fires continuous volleys of red, white and blue repeating pearls in a rapid-fire fan effect to a white crackling break. Three 6-shot green pearl volleys, the last of which has a huge secondary crackle to end the effect.
Pyrotechnic Motherlode
Price: $99.99
Color: Multicolor
Effect: Crackle, multi-burst flower patterns
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
Considered the King of the 500-gram fireworks, this 16-shot 500-gram aerial repeater shoots up red crackle, blue crackle and white crackle, then produces multi-burst flower patterns with a massive secondary crackling. This covers a very wide field of view in the sky and lights it up.
Thermobaric Warhead
Price: $139.99
Color: Multicolor
Category: Aerials: Tubes, Mines, Shells
You can send 16 powerful fire bursts of red, silver, green, purple and gold into the sky.
Wickedly Awesome
Price: $189.99
Color: Red/Green/Yellow
Effect: Mines, Stars, Palm Tree
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
The Z-style aerial repeater fires the 115-shot “Wickedly Awesome” across a wide expanse of the sky. The rapid-fire aerial repeats six rows of red, green and yellow stars with crackle, then another six rows of red, green and yellow comets to a crackle break. Crackling brocades give way to a finale shot from larger tubes to give huge peony breaks
Combo Finale
Price: $809.96
Category: 500 Gram Maximum Load Repeaters & Fountains
The Combo Finale Inclues:
1- Phandemonium
1 - 3" Gold Brocade Finale Rack
2 - Live Free or Die
2 - Crown Brocade Classics
This package offered by Phantom Fireworks offers a sky-filling recipe of several best-selling packages.