As seasonal shops made their (temporary) mark across the UK this Halloween, Halloween HQ’s David Pike explained the pop-up phenomenon.
The seasonal nature of Halloween lends itself perfectly to pop-up shops; retail outlets or mall units which appear in busy high streets or shopping centres to make the most of a key event in the retail calendar.
Initially an Irish brand which started with just one store in 2012, Halloween HQ opened over 70 temporary stores across the UK and Ireland this autumn. The boost follows last year’s merger with UK retail experts Calendar Club, when the new partnership opened around 60 pop-up stores for the Halloween season.
“Lots of other companies have tried to do what we do,” says group director David Pike, “but the task of finding, staffing and running so many stores in such a short time is nothing short of a logistical triumph!”
The Calendar Club first began to explore the Halloween market back in 2014, with five stores operating across the UK. A positive initial response saw the company increase numbers for 2015, taking a slightly different approach for the Halloween market.
“Those first two years were a steep learning curve,” David explains. “What worked well for the calendar trade didn’t necessarily apply for Halloween shoppers, so we had to adapt the model accordingly.”
The Calendar Club responded quickly to these differences, even creating installations within shopping centres to act as Halloween ‘grottos’ with the product on sale inside.
“We trialled this approach in Bristol in 2015, before taking it to a wider audience last year after we’d teamed up with Halloween HQ,” says David. “Commercially these huge installations can be a challenge, but they are an incredible experience and resonate extremely well with the shoppers, so they are worth every penny!”
One of the main challenges faced by seasonal retailers is the response they have from dedicated, year-round retailers. “Some suppliers have had negative feedback after working with Halloween HQ,” explains David, “which is a shame, of course. But I think that, by-and-large, most other retailers are taking the view that this is an inevitable and natural progression of the industry.”
David acknowledges that Halloween HQ is new competition for the traditional party store, but is clear in his belief that more quality retailing helps the whole industry raise its game as it creates demand and lifts the market.
