Seasonal Halloween stores swarm Dallas

by Teresa Gubbins

Two chains, one a biggie, the other an upstart, both want to dress Dallasites like pirates and witches, like goblins and ghouls.

Like gypsies they come in, squatting in vacant buildings, hawking every bit of Halloween-themed merchandise known to man: sexy schoolgirl costumes, false mustaches, tombstones, capes, fangs, fog machines, tiaras, wings, fake blood, witch hats, animated flying bats, and skeletons.

They are seasonal Halloween stores -- cropping up suddenly in September, then disappearing once November 1 arrives. They're also multiplying like crazy, in response to a growing market, with two chains -- one a market leader, another an up-and-comer -- both setting their sights on Dallas' costuming needs.

A new survey conducted for the National Retail Foundation (NRF) found consumers spending more on Halloween every year. In 2007, the average person is expected to spend $64.82 on the holiday (compared to a piddly $59.06 in 2006). The typical costume will cost $23.33, including costumes for children and pets. If you count candy, costumes, and decorations, total spending on Halloween is expected to reach $5.07 billion.

The giant among seasonal Halloween stores is Spirit Halloween. Founded in San Francisco 25 years ago, Spirit was acquired in the late ‘90s by Spencer Gifts, who took the chain from 36 stores in 1998 to more than 450 stores in 46 states across the country.

Spirit starts scouting sites in January. They look for strip centers, stand-alone stores, malls, and downtown retail centers, in communities of 100,000 or more. They seek locations with 5,000 to 10,000 square feet; good street visibility; and a minimum count of 30,000 cars passing by daily.

Oddly, of the dozen Spirit Halloween stores in Dallas, half took over former furniture stores, such as the Mesquite branch on LBJ Freeway in the former Bassett Furniture store, or the Richardson branch on US 75 at Galatyn, in a former Casual Living outdoor patio furniture store. Others, such as the Spirit store on Preston and Park in west Plano, are camping out in former Albertsons sites.

But Spirit is facing an upstart: Indianapolis-based Cow Halloween, founded by John Surenkamp, 36, who started the company with his brother in 1997 as an offshoot of their fireworks business. They’re growing the chain slowly, and have four branches in the Dallas area (with more in Colorado).

"There are a few people doing fireworks nationally that got into the Halloween business," Surenkamp says. "We’re now getting out of fireworks. We’re finding that Halloween is a year-round job."

They start the buying process in December, attending trade shows to find out what costumes are in vogue.

"It's following trends, following movies," he says. "The big hit this year is the movie 300, so any Spartan costume, anything related to that film is doing real well. Pirates are still strong this year."

The NRF survey found that the top adult costumes are as follows: 1. witch 2. pirate 3. vampire 4. cat 5. princess 6. fairy 7. wench/tart 8. clown 9. angel 10. nurse.

Top children’s costumes are as follows: 1. princess 2. Spider-man 3. pirate 4. witch 5. fairy 6. Disney princess 7. Star Wars character 8. pumpkin 9. ghost 10. Power Ranger.

Stupidly, even pets have costumes (although no decent human being would subject their pets to such a thing), in the following order: devils, pumpkins, witches, princesses, angels.

Nearly 60 percent of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween, with one-third of adults planning to wear a costume.

"I think Halloween is a great escape holiday," Surenkamp says. "It used to be for kids, but it's becoming an adult thing. It's a chance for adults to take the weekend off and have a fantasy weekend. You can be anything you want to be. And unlike some of the other holidays, there's no obligation. It's just a great excuse to have a party."

Here's a list of locations of Cow Halloween:

8612 Preston Rd., Suite 107, Plano 75024 (972) 384-4480

1900 Dallas North Tollway, Plano 75093 (972) 735-8554

2325 S. Stemmons Freeway, Suite 501, Lewisville 75067 (972) 459-4718 fax

1600 Market Place Blvd., Irving 75063 (972) 506-9614 fax

Spirit's 12 locations in the Dallas area can be found at this link:

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