By Ed Avis
NCA members are important players in the costume industry. A survey of members conducted earlier this year revealed the amount of money that members spend on inventory, how they choose products for their stores, how they learn about new products, and more.
Below are some key facts from the survey. In the next week or so, NCA Vendor Members will receive a white paper detailing the results of the survey – and other data – along with some analysis.
Big Spenders
How much do NCA members spend on inventory each year? The average is about $150,000, according to the sruvey. The smallest store responding to the survey reported that they spend $5,000 on inventory, and the largest spends $400,000.
The survey was answered by 19 of the association’s 101 current members. If we extrapolate the $150,000 average to all member stores, the association as a whole spends just over $15 million per year.
Discounts Good, Competing with Stores Bad
Another question in the survey asked members what factors they consider when choosing a vendor. There was a tie at the top: The two most important factors were the availability of discounts for NCA members and whether a vendor competes with retailers by selling on their own websites for less than the MSRP.
That latter concept was also highlighted during an NCA meeting about vendor issues. Meeting attendees said they understood that manufacturers need to have websites that sometimes sell to consumers, but when they sell below the MSRP, it’s a business killer.
The next most important factors, according to the survey, are the uniqueness of the product, the quality of the product, and the availability of Halloween dating, in that order.
Interestingly, a factor that traditionally is seen as important – whether the product is a licensed product (such as from Marvel or Disney) – was ranked 11th out of 13 factors, far below factors such as availability and shipping cost.
A related question asked members which vendors they shop from regularly. The winners? Rubies, Underwraps and Morris were tied for the top position. The next five most popular were Disguise, elope, Fun World, HM Smallwares and Mehron.
Good Website Matters
How do NCA members learn about new products? The vendor’s website and the internet in general ranked as the most important ways to learn, the survey revealed. In the NCA meeting about vendors, several attendees said they greatly prefer vendor websites that contain up-to-date stock information, so that they don’t place orders for products that end up being out of stock.
Other top-scoring avenues were PDF catalogs, the Halloween & Party Expo, and The Costumer magazine.
What was least valuable? Trade shows other than Halloween & Party Expo and old-fashioned paper catalogs.
Everyone Likes the Buyer’s Group
The next question asked members which NCA member benefits they use the most. Unsurprisingly, the top benefit is the Buyer’s Group, which is used by 95 percent of members.
Other very popular benefits are The Costumer magazine, which is read by 79 percent of members; and the NCA Today newsletter, which is read by 68 percent of members.
Leaving Las Vegas?
A final question asked members where they would like to see future Halloween & Party Expos. The event has been held in Las Vegas for the past three years, and members seem ready for a change, as that city was ranked fifth out of eight options.
The top city is historically connected to the show: Chicago, where HPE was held during its early years. The second choice is New Orleans, followed by Orlando.
New York, Dallas and Denver ranked below Las Vegas.
Hopefully the organizers of HPE are listening!