MANKATO, Minn. — Candy companies are not taking any chances during the pandemic. They started stocking shelves early this Halloween. Just around the aisle, costume companies are relying on sales right now, too.
Tom Fallenstein is CEO of Mankato-based HalloweenCostumes.com and Fun.com. Year-round, 180 full-time employees prepare for Halloween. Right now, it's crunch time.
The company ships costumes worldwide. Many of them are designed and developed right in Mankato. Usually, the company opens brick and mortar locations for customers in the fall, in addition to the more than 10,000 costumes available for purchase online. This year, it's online only - and sales have been unpredictable.
"At the end of March, sales dropped 80 percent," Fallenstein said. "Party City normally does - last year, they did 275 pop-up stores. This year, they did 25."
Would sales improve for this niche retail?
"Things have come back," Fallenstein said. "September is actually up 15 percent year-over-year. More people are comfortable shopping online."
Halloween costume companies are obviously used to selling masks. This year, many are selling face masks. The kind we've all been wearing for months but with designs meant to match costumes. On HalloweenCostumes.com, styles range from animal snouts to Sponge Bob Square Pants' mouth and cost $4-10.
Party City and Etsy also offer a variety of styles. Alternatively, you could use fabric paint to create your own design. Check YouTube for tutorials.
Fallenstein says 2,000 seasonal employees are hired each year and despite this year's unpredictable nature, that same number of employees are needed now.
"There's been a lot of changes making sure people are safe coming into our facilities as well," he said. "Work for two and a half weeks, they could make $2,400 plus."