Scaring Up Sales

]>Licensed merchandise does the trick when it comes to Halloween profits. Halloween 2004 appears to hold many treats for licensees and licensors as licensed characters continue to make inroads in a variety of merchandise categories including costumes, decorations, accessories, and candy.The $6.9 billion holiday remains second in sales to Christmas with 55.8 percent of consumers planning to spend an average of $41.77, a small drop from $44.20 spent in 2002, according to The National Retail Federation 2003 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF. Of that number, an average of $14.85 was slated for costumes, $14.41 for candy, $10.37 for decorations, and $2.14 for greeting cards.For Disguise Inc., more than half of its costume and accessories business is driven by licensing with sales of licensed products accounting for a higher proportion of its sales over the last two years. "This past Halloween and the next is all about licensed costumes driving the business," says Steve Stanley, executive vice president of Disguise. "For boys, the action superhero theme is popular driven by Spider-Man and Hulk, the biggest seller industrywide in 2003. It also extends to Batman and Superman, which likewise reported record sales. For girls, Disney Princess, Barbie as a perennial, and Bratz had some big numbers for 2003." Stanley is looking forward to 2004 with new licenses such as Rainbow Brite and MegaMan NT Warrior and strong results expected from Spider-Man, SpongeBob SquarePants, Care Bears, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.For competitor Rubies Costume Co., licensing will play a key role with a wide range of costumes and accessories based on hit TV shows, upcoming movies, and classic properties. "Our licensed business is about 50 percent to 60 percent of our annual sales with the balance dedicated to quality generic products such as witches, ninjas, and other staples," confides Howard Beige, executive vice president at Rubies Costume Co. Beige expects solid results for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as it is the first of the trilogy in theaters prior to Halloween. On tap is a new line of robes, wands, and brooms, as well as a costume based on new villain Dimentor.The company also will create a line of costumes and accessories for new licenses Teen Titans, ¡Mucha Lucha!, and theatrical releases Catwoman (July 2004) and Shark Tale (August 2004). Existing licenses won't be forgotten with costumes and accessories due for Yu-Gi-Oh! (theatrical release in August '04), Barbie (with new theme The Prince and the Pauper), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and Star Wars (the first-ever DVD of the trilogy hits August '04). Adult MasqueradeBut kids don't have the exclusive on dressing up. According to the NRF survey, young adults ages 18 to 24 planned to celebrate Halloween by dressing in costume (57.3 percent) and throwing or attending a party (48.6 percent). These numbers likely will rise in 2004 as Halloween falls on a Sunday.

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teen/adult market is a prime target for Rubies, as well, with the company creating its first-ever Shrek costumes for this demographic, plus costumes based on Van Helsing, Alien vs. Predator, and Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the costume will include a printed jumpsuit with an inflatable backpack and inflatable gun.