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Courtland Hickey outside Chicago Costume.
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Courtland and Erin Hickey with their daughters.
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Courtland and Erin Hickey.
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Courtland and Erin Hickey with their daughters.
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By Ed Avis
Courtland Hickey grew up surrounded by costumes. Hickey’s mom, Mary, was a costume designer for New York Costume Company while attending the Goodman Theatre school in Chicago until she opened her own store, Chicago Costume, in 1976. Today Hickey, who joined the NCA board in July, runs the business.
“I loved working here as a high school student,” Hickey says. “We also had a restaurant, an Italian beef stand, but that was so much more work than the costume business! I enjoyed eating the food, but I didn’t enjoy working at the restaurant as much as in the costume store.”
When Hickey graduated from high school in 1999, he decided he would work in the family business.
“So from that time, 18 years old, I’ve been running the show,” he says. “My mom is now really focused on making mascot costumes instead of the minutiae of the day-to-day business.”
Not only does Hickey run the business, but he and his wife and three daughters live above the store.
“I remember being a kid and making a mess playing with all the stuff in the store, which is ironically what my kids do now,” he says. “With my young daughters I’ve become acutely aware that we essentially live in a toy store.”
Growing the Business
Chicago Costume has not been static since Hickey took over. Among the changes that have occurred is the addition of a much larger second location.
The original location, which is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, has about 2,500 square feet of retail space and 1,000 square feet to accommodate rentals. As the business grew in the 1990s it became clear that they needed more space.
“We leased space for a while, and then during the Recession we were able to buy a facility,” Hickey explains. “We have 30,000 square feet of space there, and we rent out some space to other businesses.”
The new location is about five miles from the original store. Part of the space is used as a second retail location, but much of it is used for costume production – such as custom costume orders for corporate events – as well as warehousing and preparing online orders for shipping.
One important business line that Chicago Costume handles through the second location is the production of mascots.
“We produce sports team mascots for all of the major leagues in Chicago – NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS (Major League Soccer),” Hickey explains. “We also do some maintenance of the mascots there, and teams often have turnover and need new mascots fitted. We also do mascots for corporations. Making costumes, and the mascots specifically, is my mom's real passion and she does some amazing work.”
Internet Sales
Like many costume businesses, Chicago Costumes online business jumped during COVID.
“We had been selling online since 1999 but it was never a big part of the business, it was mostly a conduit for in-store sales as opposed to its own thing,” he says. “But the shutdown allowed me to focus on internet sales.”
During COVID, Hickey updated their website and dove deeply into online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. Now internet sales are an important component of the business, much of it through such third-party sites.
Post-COVID
As the pandemic eases in fits and starts, sales at Chicago Costumes’ stores has picked up. The store is located across the street from DePaul University, and as students return, Hickey expects them to resume buying.
“DePaul students are a huge customer base in our neighborhood. There are 20,000 students, so whether it’s paying rent or eating out or shopping, we wouldn’t be here without them.”
The university theater department also is a customer, Hickey says. They make their own costumes, but they depend on Chicago Costume for props and make-up. And the store employs theater students from the city’s colleges and universities.
Another area of business that Hickey expects to grow post-COVID is sales at live events. The store has opened pop-ups at corporate events, parades, comic-cons, pride events, and many other events in past years, and those opportunities are now resuming.
“We did Pride in the Park in Grant Park in June. It rained and people were rolling in the mud, but from a sales standpoint it was a success. A lot of those types of events are great because it’s a way for us to connect with customers. People in big cities are transient, they come and go. So I use those local events to get in front of them and let them know we’re here.”
Interestingly, Hickey says COVID did have one good effect: Buyers seem less concerned about getting the lowest price.
“Prior to COVID customers were always price sensitive, but now they seem to accept a higher price for the products because they know inflation is high across the board and availability is limited,” he says. “This is a little bubble for the costume business.”
Hopes for the NCA
Hickey says he’s looking forward to contributing his perspectives as an NCA board member. He would like to help the organization become more relevant to members and help members solve problems.
“I’d like the NCA to transform into more of an advocacy organization for this business,” he says. “The NCA is the one organization where everyone is in the same business as I am. I’m eager to share more and learn more from other people about how we solve problems.”
Ultimately, Hickey would like the NCA to help the industry stay vital: “I’m a second-generation owner, and I hope someday my kids want to take over the store.”