Halloween 2017
The Fear
As the nights draw in, retailers are preparing themselves for the single biggest event within the party calendar. Halloween is just round the corner and with suppliers launching more new lines than ever before there’s plenty of exciting product to tempt everyone. PPE has gone to the other side to pick the brains of various industry ghosts and ghouls to find out what they believe will have the fear factor in 2017.
Factor
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t might not be the scariest thing around, but the one thing everyone in the party industry would really like at Halloween is a working crystal ball. While it’s still easily the biggest season in the party year, the extent to which Halloween celebrations are fully embraced by the public can be easily affected by all manner of elements beyond our control – killer clowns, bad weather, the day of the week it falls upon... In fact, the one thing that suppliers can safely predict is that pre-Halloween orders are going to be down as retailers attempt to navigate this Halloween so
TERROR TRENDS
“Everyone loves some decoration, and balloons are a great way of catching shoppers’ attention by adding movement to a display. Make the most of the balloons you are selling in your store to show customers what they could achieve themselves. Don’t forget to post regularly on social media as well – it’s free and one of the best ways to advertise lots of different products. People don’t buy what they can’t see!” Alex Love, marketing executive, Pioneer Europe
Left: Thetru’s 2017 Halloween line makes a statement. Below: Broken doll mask from Boland Party.
they are able to come out the other side in a more positive position in terms of increased sales and less stock. Last year’s ‘Monday Halloween’ has been the subject of much derision for the last 12 months, once the initial excitement of the season had worn off and retailers and suppliers alike had worked out the bottom line and taken stock of – well, their stock. Above: Couples costume from Funshack.
At the time, the long queues and cobwebbed storefronts made Halloween 2016 feel like it was going to be a big hit, but the post-event number crunching told a very different – and far more scary – story. “This Halloween is
TERROR TRENDS
“Despite Halloween 2017 falling on a Tuesday, we have had a strong forward order season, and more recently, an increase in Halloween orders now summer holidays are over. We are continuing to see growth in accessories and our make-up FX categories. Our new range of one-day lenses have quickly become the bestselling new line for Halloween.” Sharon Poulter, senior trade marketing manager, Smiffys
Inset: Smiffys range of props is a frightening sight!
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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09/10/2017 13:01