Mahaffey Event & Tent Rentals expands offerings by folding in assets of Holliday Events

A Memphis-based company has expanded its offerings and reach with a recent deal with another well-established firm.

In March, Mahaffey Event & Tent Rentals acquired the assets of Holliday Events. Those assets are under the umbrella of Germantown-based Holliday Flowers & Events, which has served the Memphis area for more than 40 years.

Michelle Thompson, director of sales for Mahaffey, told MBJ that Brent Long, the director of special events at family-run Holliday, said he was looking to get out of the event side of the business. That opened up the opportunity for Mahaffey to step in with an offer.

"When we heard about that, we started talks and negotiations with him," Thompson said. "We had a good business and working relationship with Brent. That's when we decided that it made sense for our business as a way to grow quickly with very good inventory. … This was a very quick way to get our business moving in the right direction."

Within the purchase agreement, Holliday Events’ rental inventory moved over to the Mahaffey catalog. In-demand items that were added to Mahaffey's supply include ghost chairs, gold Midas tables and chairs, and serpentine tables. The agreement allowed Mahaffey to increase its specialty inventory to serve customers in Memphis and throughout the Mid-South.

"[The deal with Holliday Events] was probably the quickest and easiest way for us to expand and double [an] inventory that was very well accepted by the public and all the [event] planners already," Thompson said. "We feel this acquisition will also take us from doing basic tenting, tables, chairs, dish and linen, and elevate the elegant experience that somebody can get with the full event planning experience."

Daniel Smith, president of Mahaffey Event & Tent Rentals, noted that the company now is a one-stop shop for event and tent rental service needs.

"If you think about where we were before the acquisition, the breadth and scope were kind of limited," Smith said. "Now, with Holliday [Events], we can go to planners or the party industry and offer them everything they need beyond just food. Everything they need at a party or event, we have now."

According to Thompson, Mahaffey has also been able to add more business since the acquisition.

"We are getting new customers, and we’re getting our foot in the door to new places," she said. "We’re also expanding our relationship with our current vendors and clients because now we can offer a lot more to them."

Smith said Mahaffey currently has 75 employees on staff, including some additions on the creative side.

Mahaffey brought over Hayley Carpenter from Holliday. She now works as Mahaffey's creative services supervisor and handles custom production requests, including print and signage for special events, as well as fabricating décor and props on an as-needed basis. The company also added event planner Tim Dalfiume, who was the longtime director of events at the Memphis Zoo.

"We knew we would need to get creative people to come on board to take us to the next level," Thompson said.

Smith said Mahaffey is now positioned to grow operations beyond the local market.

"Now that we are comfortable and confident with the inventory and plan we have to expand our team in the local market, we have a laser-focus on expanding our footprint … to open satellite branches in other markets via acquisition or [ground up]. That is at the top of our priority list right now," he said.

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