FEATURE
IMAGINE BY RUBIE’S GETS
DRESSED UP Executive Vice President Howard Beige talks about Rubie’s Costume Co.’s new Imagine by Rubie’s dress-up line. Rubie’s is best known for its Halloween costumes. Tell me about the Imagine division. What kinds of products do you offer and how does it differ from your Halloween products? Imagine is a division of Rubie’s Costume Co. solely dedicated to dress-up fun. Products are specially designed for everyday use and are constructed with that in mind. For instance, many of our best-sellers are muscle chest tops, capes, and accessories, which allow kids to wear some of their own apparel, assuring them to be comfortable in their own styles. Another wildly popular product is our dual character licensed capes. With this unique product the child can transform into Batman one day and Superman the next. Imagine’s goal is to encourage kids to dream, believe, and achieve through the art of imagination. Most Imagine products are packaged for gift-giving. What trends are you noticing in the dress-up category? The dress-up category continues to flourish year after year because it appeals to a child’s imagination. Star Wars and superheroes are a growing trend for both boys and girls. For boys, we anticipate Star Wars, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to dominate the category. As for girls, we expect characters such as Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and new DC Super Hero Girls to be on trend with the phenomenon of “girl power.” Do you see a growing demand for everyday dress-up and role-play products? How are you addressing this? We are absolutely seeing a growing demand for everyday dressup. Each Imagine product is a great gift idea all year long while particularly peaking during the fourth quarter. We are adding more than 100 products to the 2016 Imagine Collection to address the demand for everyday dress up. Do you have any tips for toy retailers who carry dress-up and roleplay for kids? Regarding tips for toy retailers, Imagine gives different suggestions for the various channels of distribution. For the mass and mid-tier retailers that have limited footage in their toy department, we suggest featuring the most important categories, including the top licenses mentioned above. For boys, that would be the muscle chest tops, various capes, and cape/mask combos, including the reversible cape. For girls, the strongest licenses such as Wonder Woman from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the DC Super Hero Girls
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should be on display. Generic characters such as fairies and princesses should also be predominantly displayed, as well as mid-priced dressup sets and accessories such as wigs and masks. How do you balance your Halloween divisions versus your Imagine everyday dress-up lines? As with all divisions of Rubie’s, Imagine is a free-standing division that has its own creative team, sales team, and warehouse with extensive product development on both the east and west coast. We also design Imagine products with fabrics and trims that are of apparel standards to differentiate ourselves from other costume companies. Like Teenage Mutant the other divisions under the Ninja Turtles Ninja Rubie’s group, they have all of Combat Box Set the top licenses and strongly benefit from the leadership and expertise of David Beige and Renne Fink. How will the box office success of Star Wars affect Rubie’s lineup for Halloween costumes and for everyday dress up? The recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens film has broken all box office records and as of today has the No. 1 box office revenue in the U.S. of all time. With the astonishing success of this film, it will have a profound effect on what products consumers will demand this year and beyond. »