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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

In Mask Sales At Least Trump Wins

Costume retailer Phantom Halloween is getting the Valley geared up for the spookiest day this year – namely, the upcoming presidential Election Day. In the front of its year-round location, Costume Warehouse, in Canoga Park sits a large display tower filled with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton latex masks, “Make America Great Again” baseball caps, along with American flags and other patriotic accessories. “I expect to see these masks move,” said Ryan Goldman, president of Phantom. “I expect to see Donald Trump items eventually sell out, and I expect to see leftover quantities of Hillary Clinton masks.” Phantom has three permanent and three seasonal locations, including one at the Northridge Fashion Center. After 25-plus years in the costume industry, Goldman has taken note of how elections affect consumer shopping patterns. He has noticed that the bigger the candidate’s persona, the more likely his or her likeness will sell. “Donald Trump has a gigantic personality with the bad spray tan and terrible comb-over; he just says whatever is on his mind and that screams Halloween success,” said Goldman. “Hillary doesn’t put herself out there in terms of personality.” To support his point, he mentioned two past presidents whose masks are still selling in his stores today — Ronald Reagan, the former Hollywood movie star, and Richard Nixon, the only president to resign from office. Nevertheless, Timothy Malefyt, marketing professor at Fordham University in New York, said costume retailers bear financial risk when selling political masks. A candidate could say or do something so damaging that it could send his or her costume sales into a tailspin with little chance of recovery. “The marketing can be short-lived,” he said. “Trump might say something devastating that might be too volatile for the public. Anything can happen in the political sphere.” Despite the uncertainty of politics, Goldman has also observed that the candidate who has the best-selling mask becomes leader of the free world, citing each of the past four elections since George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. He said Bush masks outsold both Gore and John Kerry’s, and Barack Obama masks outpaced John McCain and Mitt Romney’s by a substantial amount. “These are sales of an item, but really what America is telling us is what they like at the register,” said Goldman. However, this year he feels costume sales may be less of an indicator of who will become president than in previous elections. “I can guarantee that Donald Trump will outsell Hillary Clinton, but I can’t guarantee that Donald Trump is going to beat her in the polls,” he said. “That’s for America to decide, not the costume retailers. But if history serves us, I think this year is going to be a statistical anomaly.” – Stephanie Henkel

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