Halloween isn’t scaring people away from shopping.
Last week, Halloween Express at 510 Broadway was full of adults and children looking to purchase their ideal costume.
But the late afternoon crowd was just the early rush.
Halloween Express manager Jessica Germano said that like Christmas, most people wait until the last minute to find their Halloween costumes.
She said the last week of October is when the crowds really start to come in.
“It’s usually hit or miss on any given day,” she said. “But the days leading up to Halloween is when we get most of our business.”
This is Halloween Express’s fifth season in Chula Vista, its first at the Broadway location. Previously the store was located a few buildings down but moved this year to a more visible area.
“We have seen a difference in foot traffic from last year to this year just on the new location,” she said.
Halloween Express has nine other stores throughout the county including one at Westfield Plaza Bonita. The Broadway location employs 18 people.
Germano estimates her store sells more than 10,000 products including costumes, accessories and decorations. Costumes range from $10.99 for a basic one such as a witch or a ninja to $129.99 for more complex costumes.
This year the choice in costumes is much different from years past. Germano said she’s noticed customers are into scarier costumes this year with most buying costumes as killers, murders and horror movie characters.
Mathew Fahr, owner of Halloween Express, has a different perspective. He said the most sought-after costumes are any character from “Star Wars” and the movie “Descendent.”
Fahr said because Halloween is on Saturday he’s noticed that most of his customers have been adults, as he expects many adults will join Halloween parties over the weekend.
“Halloween is on a Saturday so everybody anticipates this is going to be the best Halloween season from a business standpoint,” he said.
Being a seasonal store, Halloween Express opens every year on Labor Day weekend and shuts down Nov. 3, with a clearance sale two days after Halloween. Luckily for Germano, she has another job to go to once the seasonal job comes to an end.
Fahr owns multiple Halloween Express stores in San Diego County and said sales at each story vary.
Once the season ends, Fahr focuses on the next year by attending roadshows and conventions to purchase next year’s trendiest costumes.
“Nobody knew that “Desendant” (costumes) was going to be this big,” he said. “Last year, nobody knew “Frozen” was going to be as big as it was, so you never know. You just hope that you have the costume that everyone is asking for,” he said.
Fahr said the industry had thought “Minions” was going to be the big hit item, obviously that wasn’t the case, he said.
Fahr said it’s tough to compete with big chain stores such as Kmart, Walmart and Party City.
But, he said, what separates Halloween Express from the rest of the competition is never running out of what the customers want.
“One of the things that makes us competitive is that we constantly replenish stock,” he said.
