RM Online - Make up new ideas for profits

Halloween has become the second-largest retail holiday after Christmas, and this golden time of year for rental companies is all about differentiating yourselves.

That doesn't just mean making sure you've got tons of TeleTubbies costumes and other hot licensed costumes. Along with the growth of the Halloween industry has also come an upscaling of sorts. Offering a selection of makeup is one way you can make the register hum and differentiate your inventory in a whole new way.

"Halloween has grown massively," says Scott Ramp, owner and president of The Scream Team, Pasadena, Calif. "We're seeing very upscale, big-deal costume parties being thrown for Halloween with very large prizes being given."

Makeup will attract new attention to your store, as well as bring back loyal customers, Ramp says. "Everyone is looking for the next biggest thing. The level of the costumes being rented is getting very elaborate."

"We're seeing rental companies striving to create differentiation through makeup," says Cindy Smith, general sales manager for Collegeville Imagineering, Collegeville, Pa. "Most of the rental companies we deal with want to be different from the mass market, so they are looking for classier packaging and more upscale kinds of products."

And when it comes to offering add-on makeup kits and other products, it doesn't have to be all about Halloween, says Smith, noting that face painting has become a huge trend year-round.

"Rental companies can take advantage of the fact that face painting has really become a big attraction at school carnivals, fund-raisers, birthday parties and, basically, any event where children are present," Smith says. This year-round business also presents an opportunity for rental stores to perhaps partner with local artists who can use their talents to promote their skills and your business.

Ben Nye Co., a major makeup manufacturer in Los Angeles, also has seen a growing reliance on its MagiColor Face Paints. As a result, 11 MagiCake Aqua Paints and a new six-color Fantasy Kit have been added to its line, according to president Dana Nye.

The hottest designs for face painting are usually clowns, animals and whimsical items like stars and flowers in vibrant colors and accented with glitter, Smith says.

"One great way to promote your add-on sales is to actually hold in-store displays or events, showcasing what you have," she says.

Ramp notes that if stores really offer customers some interesting facial options, they can create some added excitement.

The Scream Team offers a new direction for rental companies to consider regarding makeup. It manufactures a whole line of foam latex prosthetics, just like the ones that have been used in Hollywood productions for years.

"It's quite new in terms of being sold on the public market, and it offers Halloween or makeup enthusiasts more of a false face than a mask," Ramp says.

For example, if you were to wear a prosthetic nose, the baked foam process used creates a soft nose that moves and wiggles just like your real nose does underneath. And it can be worn for 15 to 20 hours at a time, just like requirements for actors on a movie set.

"Traditional rubber masks are more expensive [than these prosthetics] for a decent one, and the user only gets one expression; there's no flexibility," Ramp notes. "Rental stores will find that repeat customers will want to keep coming back to do something new."

Another advantage for rental stores is, again, differentiation, because you can offer an outstanding complement to your costume inventory.

"We have one rental store customer in Pennsylvania who wears a different prosthetic at the store every day during the month of October, and it is very effective in drumming up business," Ramp says.

While some people may think they are complicated to put on and make up (they come colorless with a makeup kit), they really are quite easy and offer an instructional booklet besides, he says.

This kind of "makeup" also has a place at carnivals, mall events, fund-raisers, etc., because your rental store could sponsor booths in which these and other makeup products are featured. These events also would provide opportunities to show off your hottest costumes. It's all about thinking beyond the boundaries.