Competition creep hits Halloween costume stores

VIRGINIA BEACH

On a busy afternoon earlier this month, the ladies at Echoes of Time on North Witchduck Road were at their busiest, fetching accessories, scheduling costume rentals, answering phones and digging in the shop's back storage area - where the likes of Darth Vader and Barney hang out - for the store's more elaborate offerings.

More than a dozen customers roamed the shop's narrow aisles, thumbing through rows and rows of costumes, ranging from authentic '70s garb to newly minted creations.

A petite blonde twirled in front of a mirror in a pink feather-and-sequins flamingo costume.

"You look precious!" cooed store owner Evie Myatt, looking up from an invoice at the front counter. "Isn't that adorable?!"

The scene is a familiar one for Myatt and her staff in the month leading up to Halloween. For the past 25 years they've rented and sold costumes to local customers, starting on Laskin Road and relocating several times before settling in a strip mall across from Rosewood Memorial Park cemetery - an appropriate spot for someone in the Halloween business.

Echoes of Time is one of few year-round, locally owned costume shops in South Hampton Roads. The other, Novelties Unlimited on 21st Street in Norfolk, opened its doors in 1980.

Back then, there weren't many options for Halloween enthusiasts, said Betty Hermann, Novelties Unlimited's owner. But the scene has changed, with big-box stores stocking mass quantities of inexpensive costumes and seasonal Halloween superstores cropping up starting in late September, just as business heats up. And every year, competition gets fiercer for disguise-seeking trick-or-treaters and Oct. 31 partygoers.

"We opened in a day when there were no big-box stores," Hermann said. "It's tough with the competition."

In the last month or so, about eight temporary Halloween stores have opened in South Hampton Roads, most in Virginia Beach. There also are four Party City stores in the region, in addition to costume-carrying stores such as Walmart, Kmart and Target, all vying for a piece of the roughly $7 billion annual Halloween industry. The estimate, by the National Retail Federation, is based on a nationwide consumer survey.

The local, year-round shops are not fond of the temporary stores, which edge in on the customer base they work all year to build with costuming for parties, plays and school projects.

"They just come here to capitalize on the amount of people who are here, and it hurts us," said Myatt's daughter, Cathy DeBolt, who helps run Echoes of Time. "It hurts everyone."

"I don't think you should support the 30-day stores," Hermann said. "Where are they the rest of the year? Where are they for the school plays?"

Money spent with local businesses does more to benefit the community, with 68 cents of every dollar spent staying in the area versus 43 cents of every dollar spent with a chain, said Bill Brunelle, project manager for Independent We Stand, a national buy-local movement based in Virginia Beach.

But the "pop-up" stores provide benefits, too, filling vacant retail space and creating jobs, even if just for a month or two, said Sushma Dwivedi, a spokeswoman for Spirit Halloween, a national chain with a location on South Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach.

Each of Spirit's stores is open for about a month and hires about 20 people, Dwivedi said. And each location raises money for the nearest children's hospital, such as Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, she said.

"We kind of think of ourselves as a little Halloween circus," Dwivedi said. "The benefit of pop-up retail is that we're taking space that hasn't actually been used."

The model seems to be successful, with Spirit adding 100 stores every year since 2007, she said. This year Spirit has about 1,000 stores throughout the United States and Canada and will hire about 20,000 people. It's owned by Spencer Gifts LLC, based in New Jersey.

The temporary stores help out commercial real-estate agents with vacant space, agreed Jason Fox, a leasing representative with Brixmor Property Group, which leased a store to Halloween City at Hilltop next to Trader Joe's.

"It's an opportunity for us and I would say for other landlords in the area that do have big-box vacancies," Fox said. "Even if it's only for two months, it's an opportunity for us to make some income."

Local commercial real estate broker David Lindsey agreed, adding the temporary stores sometimes offer to pay higher premiums for the space.

"It's a tremendous help," he said.

Despite the competition and the economic downturn, business has remained steady at Echoes of Time and Novelties Unlimited, their owners said. Echoes of Time also sells authentic vintage clothing. Novelties Unlimited is more of a party superstore, offering personalized party items, decorations and balloons.

They both carry distinctive offerings, such as Hermann's collection of celebrity masks, ranging from Michelle Obama to Charlie Sheen, and Myatt's custom-made Viking costume and original dresses worn by actress Kathy Kinney, who played Drew Carey's flamboyant arch-rival, Mimi Bobeck, on "The Drew Carey Show." They rely on loyal customers, long-standing reputations and an emphasis on customer service - their employees act more like personal shoppers than clerks - to survive.

"We are very grateful to our customers," Myatt said. "We are who we are because of our customer base and their loyalty."

Rose Holloman and her husband drove from Suffolk to Echoes of Time to find a queen of the Nile costume and a gladiator outfit for their Halloween party next weekend.

"It's overwhelming, but the ladies are so helpful," she said. "They made it so much fun."

Jack and Robin Rourke of Virginia Beach went to the store after striking out at one of the chains. They purchased costumes to dress as Playboy tycoon Hugh Hefner and a flamingo on their upcoming cruise to the Bahamas.

"I'm always going to shop here - always, always," Robin Rourke said. "I love everything about this place."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com