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Surge in Halloween popularity

The Sunday Age today has a report on the growth in Halloween popularity.

More than 4 million people – or 20 per cent of the population – will celebrate Halloween this year according to a survey by McCrindle Research.

I have certainly seen the interest in Halloween grow in my own stores.  This year is the best ever. Excellent sales thanks to new traffic and good business from existing customers.

What makes Halloween especially rewarding is the 50% (and more) margin.

In 2006, newsXpress was the first newsagency marketing group to embrace Halloween.  Today, the group is one of the largest retailers of Halloween product around the country.

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  1. Steve C

    Mark, I know you talk up Halloween a lot and congrats to you and others who have made some money from it. I agree that you should always look for new revenue streams. However, I just cannot and will not support an American traditional that has absolutely nothing to do with our culture. I would seriously question that research company – one in 5 Australians actively involved in Halloween. That’s some premium BS. It’s these sort of “studies” that give researchers a bad name. Let’s talk up Australia Day and Anzac Day and Melbourne Cup day and other Australian traditions rather than try and manufacture an Australian version of an American holiday.

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  2. Mark

    Steve, we are retailers in need of a dollar. Halloween works for us, great year on year growth. Great margin. Great differentiating factor.

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  3. Deb

    Here is a little story about Halloween, it did not start as an American
    Halloween is on October 31st,
    the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve (All Saints Eve) and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

    The Celtics believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.

    During the famine when a lot of Irish moved to America they kept on celebrating their festival and over the years this has become a bigger world wide festival.
    oliday.

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  4. shaun s

    for me halloween does not work but for those that it does work i say go for it ,take every oportunity a grab it by the you know whats ,mad if you don’t

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  5. Renee

    Steve C,
    Just curious. Does your store participate in Valentines day?
    Halloween keeps getting bigger and bigger each year in my store. If there is a demand for Halloween products, then I would much prefer for customers to buy from me then from the Reject shop.

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  6. Angelo

    I think that as Newsagents we should embrace these seasonal retail opportunities with all we have. I’m all for getting on the bandwagon of a growing trend and making a living from it.

    Sure, I may not totally agree with its substance and I dispute the view that it is solely American but as a retailer I know that a cardinal sin would be to impose my judgement ahead of what my customers are looking for.

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  7. ERIC

    even christmas is a pagan festive, not the birth of our jesus christ

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  8. Steve C

    Renee, I owned a newsagency for 5 years and sold in 2009 but am still very interested in the industry and it’s continued growth and success. Yes, we ran with Valentines Day but it was only ‘so-so’. My comment about Halloween was more a comment on Australian culture rather than the newsagency channel. I don’t get it and didn’t support it when I did own my business. Interestingly, not one customer/regular ever commented or asked about it (and I was a very hand-on owner, spending a great deal of time behind the counter). I commend those newsagencts who are making a buck from it.

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  9. ERIC

    i don’t encourage my kid to celebrate halloween at all.

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  10. averill

    WE HAD A GO THIS YEAR & IT WAS GREAT BUT I THINK EVERYONE HAS HAD A TUFF YEAR & IT WAS A GOOD EXCUSE TO HAVE SOME FUN WITH THE KIDS DOSNT HISTORY SHOWS TUFF TIMES BRINGS COMMUNTIES BACK TOGETHER

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  11. leon

    We went out early this year and did over $28K up form $14K last year just in Halloween product. I am so happy!

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  12. Lambros

    I copied what newsXpress did and put it into my supermarket and sold over $10,000 worth. I also combined it with lollies and other stuff and those sales improved. Next year I will do it in all five stores. I note Halloween is Celtic as are a lot of the Anglo heritages of Ozzies and also Coles, IGA and Woolworths are now in it. I love this blog for ideas.

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