Lights Tell Stories Across Europe, or How to Build a Successful Business from Playful Lighting

Interview for the Investujeme.cz portal, September 2025.

What were the beginnings of the business like compared with today’s gradual development? What do you have to change?

The beginnings resembled the life of similar small garage firms, and in addition this field, unlike today, answered only some basic needs. So we grew up, in a way, together with it. It is amusing in today’s digital age to recall the first hand-drawn designs, the hand-made decorations and the adventurous installations – severe frosts were no exception. Everything was somehow a first and a challenge. Later we began to invest in modern production, and today we probably number among the leaders in the field on the Czech market, gradually strengthening our position in Europe as well. Our installations travel to 13 European countries, we have branches in four countries, and interest in our products is beginning to come from outside Europe too.

For three years you have been running light exhibitions. What impact have they had?

We are growing rapidly, although over the long term we have recorded roughly 30% year-on-year growth. The number of employees rose from fifty to seventy, and to as many as two hundred in the season, even though the labour market is generally problematic. Light exhibitions are slowly becoming a key part of our development, and there is interest in them across Europe. Last year we carried out fifteen, not counting the Treetop Walkways, and this year we plan more than twenty.

Last year’s light exhibition Světla vyprávějí (Lights Tell Stories), on the theme of the universe, was a great success with visitors. Such growth must have required major changes…

Yes, it was not painless. The transformation from a small company into a larger one always means fundamental organisational changes. We had to set up new processes and, in effect, build another level of operation. At present we are moving to digitalisation and partial automation in production. At the same time, it is important to us that the company does not lose its family spirit and personal approach.

How have your revenues developed?

In the first year our turnover was around three million crowns. Last year we moved from 250 to 280 million, and this year we expect to exceed the 300-million mark. The largest share of that comes precisely from the expansion of light exhibitions and new projects abroad.

What is the main goal for this year?

Certainly we would like to manage all the changes in the running and development of the company; we continue with technological innovation, and thematically we have somewhat linked European traditions in the Prague project Srdce Evropy (Heart of Europe). Inspired by Greek myths and by the traditions that shape Europe, we would like to bring closer the idea of Europeanness as a process that unites us. We have entered further places in Europe, so we accept everything as a challenge and, at the same time, a responsibility towards the message of our exhibitions.

Which recent projects are you most proud of?

For example, the exhibition in the Hungarian royal palace of Gödöllő, which over 110,000 people visited. We were delighted by the attention and by the visit of a noble family. Beautiful exhibitions, thanks also to the settings in which they were placed, took place at Špilberk Castle, in Dolní Vítkovice, in the Komárno fortress and elsewhere, but some unique installations, such as the eight-metre tree in a protected building in Marseille or the giant light snowman for the San Quentin shopping centre near Paris, were a challenge for us.

What role do other sales channels play?

A smaller part comes from the e-shop and the smallest from brick-and-mortar shops, although we are moving the shop from the Christmas Courtyard in Dobrovíz to the POP shopping centre in Tuchoměřice, and occasionally, for a limited time, we open shops at our exhibitions. The main part of the business consists of exhibitions and municipal or commercial installations.

As for technology – what do you build on?

Besides our own production in wood, metal, upholstery and 3D printing, we use robotic technology developed specifically for our needs. A specially adapted robotic head speeds up production and increases precision. Thanks to the smart LED system PRO Twinkly we can change colour variations and programme moving patterns. We invest constantly in innovation – technology is important, but it cannot replace a good idea and quality design.

How do you see the future of DECOLED?

We would like to become a leading European manufacturer of decorative and festive lighting, with the ambition to extend our activity further to other continents. To connect public space with light stories in an original, sensitive and tasteful way, and to make the world around us kinder.

Published: Investujeme.cz, September 2025.