The world’s largest clothing manufacturer how to break Halloween

J · J Abrams need help. In the first six weeks of Halloween, he was looking for a very specific Star Wars clothing, in a very specific size, which was sold out online. Abrams may have instructed last year’s “Star Wars: Power Awakening”, but when a friend’s daughter wanted to be a Halloween soldier Rey, he still wanted to follow the clothing as normal. But of course, a normal person will not have an assistant, you can call the world’s largest garment manufacturer Rubie’s Costume Co. executive vice president Howard Beige, as well as sales in the United States of all Halloween costumes about half of the manufacturers. , Including all the Star Wars. Abrams’ assistant arrived at Mickey because he pulled the Rubie factory in the Queens area, where he was stirring the emergency order for selling clothes. Sitting in a messy Mercedes, a drink contaminated cup and a bag of famous Amos biscuits in a glove box, beige noticed Abrams being looking for the size and promised to send the clothes immediately. Then he entered the facility, from the 2008 movie “Dark Knight”, 100 women crazy to sew purple pants and suits jacket.

“Their thumbs to the pulse that people want”

If you have been dressed as a Halloween movie or TV role, then the piece of clothing you bought may be made by R ubie’s. Geometric size drops some common characters like witches or vampires – a large number of small companies have made these – but more than 20,000 pieces of clothing and accessories sold by retailers such as Wal-Mart, Amazon and party markets, Ruby may play in your Halloween An important role to celebrate. Beginning in 1951, the Queen’s Soda Store / Novelty Store in the past 65 years has grown to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in international business. (It does not disclose figures, but the analyst firm IbisWorld estimates US $ 251 million in revenue) Rubie has 3,000 employees, contracts with 12 Chinese factories, has four factories in the United States and operates six large warehouses, , One in Arizona, one in South Carolina. Rubie’s also launched 15 subsidiaries in Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and other countries, selling carnival costumes in Brazil, Mexico selling death dresses, and Easter Bunny and Santa Claus packages around the world. But in the United States, its bread and butter are still Halloween. Companies and holidays enjoy a different relationship with happy marriage: the success of one person promotes the growth of another person. “Ten thousand years ago, Halloween is not the same,” Mickey said with a smile. “I like to think we have a hand.”

According to the National Retail Federation (National Retail Federation) statistics, the Americans this year will be Halloween candy, clothing and decorations hit a breakthrough $ 8.4 billion. This figure in a short span of 10 years to jump nearly 70%, so that Halloween after Christmas decoration sales of the second holiday. In the process, it becomes more and more aging. Longer: American holiday American historian Lesley Bannatyne said: “Once the children’s holiday has become the majority of adults now involved in things.” This year nearly half of American adults will Will be dressed, twice as much as 30 years ago. Candy and clothing are cheap enough, Halloween is also a large part of the economic recession; 2008 sales actually increased, because, as the beige said, “almost anyone can buy from Wal-Mart $ 9 mask ”

But it is not easy to figure out what the mask should be and what to do. More people are dressed for Halloween, but they do not like the same, according to news events, movies or internet mode, in a few weeks or months ago virus, picking clothing in early October. Rubie tries to predict the trend of Halloween a year ahead, but keeps adjusting its plans, such as the expected large (“Legend of Mount Tai”), the beloved actor dies (Gene Wilder’s Willie Wonka costumes will be popular this year), or millions People are ravaged in the Pokémon Go Glow and Beige found himself making a lot of the last moment of Pikachu costumes to fill thousands of back orders. Pokemon will enter this year’s top ten best-selling clothing, was the first time popular, and did not happen. “Thank God, we already have a license and design,” he said. “Otherwise, it will be a disaster.”

At the age of 58, beige hair grayed out, smile never faded. He kept enough queen accent, and when he complained about his waist, his “yuuuge” version sounded like Donald Trump. He and his brother Marc and sister Maxine (another brother has retired) to co-operate the family business, but when his brothers and sisters focus on the financial and customer accounts, Beige played a warm clothing lovers, sweet Hollywood studio The company designs clothing according to its own film characters, and then persuades the store to carry. “Howie is one of the most enthusiastic people in his company, and the quality of anyone he meets in this business,” said Pam Kaufman, chief marketing officer and president of Nickelodeon Consumer Products.

Danny Gurganus, a partner at Danny Trix & Kix, said: “They want the pulse of what people want.” In Texas spring, the 17,000-square-foot clothing store was said by Danny Gurganus The He estimated that Rubie’s sales were 60% of his sales.

“What do we do? Do not sell to Wal-Mart?”

Rubie’s named Beige’s father Rubin, Rubin in 1951 in the Queens district of Woodhaven neighborhood with his wife Tillie opened a soda shop and a novelty shop, Rubin Beige worked for a carnival, so when he noticed interesting masks and he brought The hat sold well, he played a few pieces of clothing – cowboy, angel, witch, people can rent a party, drama works, of course, Halloween. He soon sold them to other shops. “A few years later, I found a word: wholesale,” Howard said, “At that time, we just put it as something to sell in the city.

At the time of Rubin’s death, in 1972, the soda shop had become a comprehensive clothing company, pulling $ 100,000 a year, most of which comes from high-quality rental clothing, which costs about $ 300 and rents of about $ 30. The newly widowed Tillie even distributed the company among the four children and told them that if not enough to support the four families she would sell. “That’s what we do,” Mickey said, and he’s still in high school.

Beige joined Rubie in 1975. At the age of 17, he spent the summer vacation throughout the country, wearing a clothing store, selling his merchandise from his clothes rack on the trunk of Dodge Colt. He later upgraded to a car home, where he visited for six years. He bathed in the campsite. He was taken away from a Howard Johnson in Redwood City, California (“Wigs on the parking lot!”) He finally persuaded hundreds of clothing stores to buy from Ruby. Terrie Frankel, 71, who owns Frankel’s clothing in Houston, is one of the oldest customers of Rubi, “Howie parked the car in the driveway.” I’ll take his bagels and radish On the breakfast. ”

Mickey’s car journey coincides with the Halloween way of celebrating a major change. In the 1970s, people stopped renting clothing for cheap production of disposable garments. At the time and in the 1980s, the top manufacturers of these disposable garments were Ben Cooper, who authorized films and TV characters, and then turned them into children’s clothing and rarely looked like originals. “Star Trek”, for example, became a $ 3 Captain Kirk Mask and Plastic One-piece Dress with Starship Enterprise’s picture. “I actually went to Paramount and said,” It’s ridiculous, “Mickey said, and in 1989 he provided the company’s executives with a copy of the adult size of Star Trek.” I showed them Kirk captain The beautiful replicas of the actual uniforms worn on the collar and patch. They said, “What about the mask?” I said, “Those who buy this dress want to be Captain Kirk, but myself,” he got the license on the same day.

Rubie began selling other rights holders to acquire licenses for Barbie (1993), Star Wars (1994), Nickelodeon (2000) and Marvel (2014). It also puts competitors in a dilemma: a struggling Ben Cooper (Ben Barbera and the “DC Comics” license) and the novelist forum. When Rubie’s does not have a license, it will look like: Rival’s Disguise has the official Snow White costume, but at Rubie you can buy a suspicious red and blue dress and go to “Cottage Princess”.

Near the girls before the girls will gather Pokémon’s display, and a pair of twins they will become superheroes. (He wants them to play clowns and Harry Quinn from the suicide squad, and she has not seen the film, thinking that they should be Superman and Wonder Woman.) Five House consider the dress from the despicable me to match the servants.

Aspiring cats are still begging. Her mother sighed and took the clothing from the shelf. “Are you sure?” She asked. The girl nodded. They went to the registry. Behind them, two 12-year-old boys embraced a lifelike Batman model, then embarrassed and flee quickly.