” At last ! », Say lovers of sweets and disguises, who are especially feverish this year, while the Halloween party can be celebrated in a more normal way than in 2020. What to give a few chills … of excitement! Progress went to meet workers and customers in various specialty shops. What are the most popular costumes?
With an increasingly tangible return to normal, candy and costume lovers will be able to reconnect with their favorite party, if the measurements still allow it. They have been preparing for several weeks, in search of the ideal disguise, according to employees of specialized shops in Saguenay.
“It’s a crazy year,” admits, laughing Dominick Béland, administrator at Jean Coutu Jonquière, met in the branch on rue Saint-Dominique. The strong enthusiasm for the sale of costumes far exceeds the results of last year, when the health situation was more uncertain.
He believes that many are motivated to celebrate this year, both children and adults, no doubt to recover from last year, but also because the party falls on the weekend.
“It seems that this is the first party since the pandemic where people have more access to a gathering,” said Mr. Béland, who reports that costumes, makeup and masks are popular.
According to Jessy Lajoie-Boily, co-owner of Boutique Première, people are there. And they are very early this year. “By the last week of August, people were already ready to come and see what we had received,” explains the co-owner, who admits that her stock was not yet placed in the store at that time.
Last year, customers were a lot more last-minute, unsure if they could celebrate Halloween. There had finally been sales, but especially in the last days.
“We can see that this year, people are ready and want costumes. The children are in a good mood. We feel them feverish. But adults also seem to want to party between adults, ”she continues.
While parents shop for children’s costumes earlier, adults are more at the last minute, says Mme Lajoie-Boily.
At Halloween Chicoutimi, the influx of people looking for costumes has been very good since the opening, at the end of September. “The closer Halloween approaches, the more people we have,” notes Yassmina, an employee of the store.
At Confection Imagine, costume rental has taken off again. This year, the company receives a particularly high number of requests for murder mystery evenings.
In its inventory, Confection Imagine has 1000 disguises. Last year, only five were rented for Halloween.
A return to normal is particularly appreciated by the company. “It’s going very well this year. It feels good ! This is standard with the other years leading up to the pandemic. It’s back to normal, ”confirms Mélissa Lavoie, co-owner, in a telephone interview.
According to her, the interest in renting is on the rise and appeals especially to adults, since it avoids keeping an item of clothing that we often wear only once, in addition to being a more affordable option. .
To rent a disguise, the person can browse in the store, consult the online catalog or send a detailed request. In the latter case, the Confection Imagine team finds suitable clothes and accessories and invites the customer to come and try on the assembled costume.
This year, there are many requests for costumes for murder mystery games. “There are definitely more requests this year for the Murders and Mysteries. I imagine that people decide to meet in smaller groups, in smaller ones parties. We really like doing that! It gives us good challenges, ”she shares.
Costumes inspired by Game Of Thrones and Disney characters, including princesses and villains from the movies, are still very popular.
Asked about the unusual requests, Mélissa Lavoie quoted Colonel Sanders, the founder and image of the fast food chain PFK.
Each year, some characters are more popular than others. Unsurprisingly, 2021 will be the popular Halloween series Squid Game (The squid game). If costume shops find them and orders arrive on time!
It’s a real mad rush, considering the success of the Netflix series is too recent and orders are usually made months in advance. Thus, no merchant had the clothes of the characters in stock.
At Jean Coutu on rue Saint-Dominique, in Jonquière, we expect to receive a few costumes during the day on Wednesday and already, reservations have been made, a very rare phenomenon in pharmacies. Anything to do with a popular series from broadcasters like Netflix is subject to inordinate demand. As another example, the red work overalls of La casa del papel (The paper house) are also particularly sought after. But there, some stores had them in stock, including Halloween Chicoutimi.
The other most marked trend concerns traditional costumes. Vampire, ghost, ninja, thief and witch never go out of style.
At Halloween Chicoutimi, the interest in black costumes with white masks is also particularly marked. “Anyone can wear them, both women and men. It doesn’t require you to have makeup on. It’s simple and it is therefore in great demand, ”notes Yassmina, an employee.
Regarding wacky requests, store managers say that each year their employees receive requests that are out of the ordinary. Among these is the search for a thick diaper, for a client and adult pet costumes.
Halloween is definitely back, and not just for costumes! Sweets also make little monsters salivate – and bigger ones!
At Jean Coutu Jonquière, the demand for sweets is on the rise, to such an extent that the turnover of the confectionery has doubled compared to last year.
“People really seem to expect Halloween parties! », Exclaims Dominick Béland, administrator.
The consequences of the pandemic are being felt on businesses, even a year later. In each of the shops visited, officials said they had experienced difficulties in supplying costumes.
“It is difficult to have our stock. We had been told, but I didn’t think it was going to be that much. Our orders have been made since January and February, but we do not yet know when we will receive them. There are also a lot of things that were not available, ”notes Jessy Lajoie-Boily, co-owner of Boutique Première.
Luckily, she still managed to turn around and receive stock to suit all tastes.
The same story was heard at Jean Coutu Jonquière and at Halloween Chicoutimi. Domnick Béland, administrator at Jean Coutu Jonquière, confirms that the problem comes from the suppliers, but that it was possible for him to find other alternatives. “It was more complex. “
In addition, the co-owner of Boutique Première was told by several customers that the supply difficulty also affected online sales sites.