1 of 7
Liquor
2 of 7
Snot Your Problem
3 of 7
Rogue
4 of 7
Teddy the Troll
5 of 7
Venutian
6 of 7
Chester the Cheshire Cat
7 of 7
Myles of Smiles
Editor’s Note: Again this year the NCA is hosting the Help Halloween Happen campaign, which will help members bring more customers in the door. The campaign is sponsored by vendor members, including Zagone Studios. In this interview, Marketing Director Franco Pacini and Marketing Manager Jenelle “Nel” Wittmann from Zagone tells us about their expectations for the season.
Q: How are you feeling about Halloween this year?
Franco: We think it’s going to be absolutely nuts – everyone wants to do Halloween this year. Last year was actually quite decent, even with everything going on. We think this year will be even better.
Nel: We’re anticipating a lot of late wholesale orders and we’re stocked up for that.
Franco: And we build all day long, so if we run out of something, we can have more in two or three days. There are stores that have bought and reordered three times already, so if you’re holding back, don’t!
Q: What Zagone products are selling the best this year?
Nel: Our character masks are doing very well, anything fun and easy. I think people want fun and easy this year.
Franco: The Grim Reaper costume is selling well, and we’ve been moving quite a few Aliens. The stores also are restocking with items that have been around for decades, such as Voodoo and Funnybones.
Q: What are Zagone’s top new products for the year?
Franco: Number one is Snot Your Problem – an old man who has a cold and is dripping with snot. Other new products this year are Chester the Cheshire Cat, Liquor, Rogue, Teddy the Troll and Myles a Smiles (see images).
Q: We’ve heard a lot about supply issues this year. Are you facing any problems in that area?
Franco: Since we manufacture here in Melrose Park (a suburb of Chicago), we have very few problems. There are a few components we can’t get in the U.S. so we have some constraints in that respect, but not many. And we have enough of everything for Halloween.
Nel: We planned ahead knowing this was going to happen.
Q: Where do you get your ideas for masks?
Franco: We get some ideas from the internet and movies, and sometimes we take old sculpts and put a new spin on it. For example, if you take Stan the Man and change his hat and hair, you have a new mask. When we’re designing a mask, we start by thinking of how it will work on the human head. The design itself doesn’t take long – what takes long is to engineer it properly so the fit is right. The sculpting is done in-house in clay. It has be sculpted so that it can be mass manufactured, so it often needs to have a certain angle so the latex can be poured into the mold. It’s quite complicated. The design and sculpting can take two weeks.
Q: Any tips for how NCA members can maximize their Halloween sales?
Franco: Actually, I would suggest they take a longer-term approach and think about sales beyond Halloween. We have certain items that sell well all year around, and if they would take a segment of their store and devote it to a selection of party characters – I suggest Gorilla, Old Lady, Old Man, Grim Reaper, and some Hat models, like Snot Your Problem – they’re good to go. Don’t just think about Halloween – do it all year long. We don’t have a minimum order, so they can go just two deep on an item.
Nel: That being said, we feel pretty strongly that Halloween this year will be nuts, so we suggest that NCA members bring in some stock or they’ll miss out!