It's kind of a scary time to be in business. But it's a great time to be in the business of being scary.
Just don't expect it to be relaxing. Or even sane.
It's full-tilt chaos these days for the folks at Halloween Adventure, a family-run outfit responsible for the ubiquitous costume stores that pop up in empty storefronts each fall, as regularly and colorfully as tulips in spring.
And the days will only get worse before it's all over at this 28-year-old Boothwyn, Pa., company.
To pull off such a seasonal operation — 125 stores along the nation's coasts, ranging from New England to California to Florida — the demands stretch year-round. More than 2,000 potential store sites must be visited. More than 2,500 temporary, retail-savvy workers must be hired. Stock must be moved, goblin masks unpacked, fake blood accounted for.
Then, it will be just about time to start the whole process again for next year.
As far as this year goes, the saggy economy and the wave of retail bankruptcies have given Halloween Adventure a few nice treats — plentiful top-grade retail space and hoards of highly qualified workers looking for a job. Once Halloween lumbers into the past, some stores will be turned into toy stores for Christmas. Then, in spring, they'll shift over to backyard swing sets and such.
This carefully orchestrated, constantly in-motion business model has become as routine as such a herculean effort can be for the core staff. Each December, the Halloween planning process starts in earnest. By January, CEO and co-owner Joe Purifico will be throttling around the country in his car, checking potential sites. Trade shows are scoured, vendors are courted, mall owners are tempted.
These days, those shopping center owners regard Halloween Adventure with a certain gleam in the eye — knowing the traffic their presence will bring — but it wasn't always so.
The founders — Bruce Goldman, his wife, Maureen, and brother Darron — opened their first costume store in Tri-State Mall near Claymont, Pa., 26 years ago. When Bruce Goldman eventually started approaching other malls with the idea of opening a temporary store, "they laughed at him like he had 12 eyes," Purifico said.
These days, there's another big difference that drives success at the multimillion-dollar company — Halloween, it seems, isn't just for kids anymore.
"That has been the key development," Purifico said. "The adults really drive the holiday now, from the yuppies on up to the senior citizens."
Problem is, those adults also create some kinks in the company's efforts to smooth out the selling season. First mom and dad buy costumes for the kids. Then they buy decorations.
Then, the adults all descend on the stores en masse in the last runup to Halloween, desperate for that Naughty Nurse outfit, scrambling to get their hands on an Obama mask. About 30 years ago, a few bars would host Halloween events — now it's more like 90 percent, Purifico said. "Halloween is Mardi Gras for the rest of the country," he said.
It's hectic, it's intense, but it's also profitable — Halloween Adventure makes up to 50 percent of its revenue in the 10 days before Halloween.
This year, the mayhem will be more manageable — and the profits potentially more plentiful — thanks to the roomy, prime big-box space the company has been able to secure because of the flagging economy. The misfortunes of others also have delivered some top-notch talent.
"I'm getting Circuit City regional managers, Linens 'n Things managers that had responsibility for $80, $100 million stores," Purifico said.
That wealth of talent soon will help Halloween Adventure with its efforts to open more permanent costume stores — there already are two in Manhattan, and one each in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Boca Raton, Fla.