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economist sunsuh1ribune business saturday oct 25 003 by jeff mitchell staff writer forgive mary martinoif it takes her a few rings to answer the phone shes just a little busy these days see its the halloween season and for the proprietor of richmond hills wonderland costumes it never gets crazier than it is right now its eveithirig ms martirio said of the spooky season ifs my christmas indeed the comparison with the festive season isnt far off the mark the retail council of canada estimates consumers will this year spend 800 million on halloween which meansit ranks third bebmd christmas and the backtoschool rush in terms of consumer spending frenzies halloween is something that has been gamtagmore strength as theyears go by said pamela addo a spokesperson with the retail council we see halloween is growing year after yean in 2000 the first year the coun cil tracked halloweeri sales they fang in at 600 million the growth m potential for refers in just a fewyears has been staggering ms addpsaid v certainly the demand is there from tile customer ms addo said the retailer is responding to the demand y and ifs not only candies were rushing out to buy in addition to confectionery which is expected to account for some 205 million in sales this year were buying and renting costumes 24 mil- uon sendmg scry greetings to one anomer 76 inmoh at sta tionery stores flooding the aisles at discount stores to grab up deco rations masks and miscellany c 67 million and dispersing another 39 million in various other retail putiets it is estiniated about 85 per cent of canadians will decorate their homes and yards while another 23 per cent inf end on making their workplace even freakier than usual thats a hefty percentage of 31 million canadian souls who the council predicts will spend about 10 each on decorations alone staff photobill roberts mary martirio of wonderland costumes ltd poses among some of the many costumes at her richmond hill store all this for an occasion that is generally believed to have begun as a celtic feast symbolizing the end of the harvest and the advent of winter with a nod to the dearly departed as well its not even an official holiday r so what gives we canonly hypothesize ms addo said number one its fun ms martirio agrees v it gives people an opportunity w step but of their everyday lives and live otit a fantasy she said this year people are stepping up in large nurhbers to demand matrixstyle trench coats and shades eniulating the characters in the popular film its a typical phenomenon ms martino said i each year popular costumes for both adults arid kids are deter mined by what goes on in hollywood with that in mind shes busy each spring ordering and buying her inventory for this tirrie of year but its riot an infalliblesystem its not that i havent made mis takes ms martino said when star wars came tout i bought a lot of the stuff arid nobody wanted jt one thing you can always count on is our collective sweet tooth that keeps triecede candy compariyjs 100 employees toiling yeartrpund primarily for one day oct 31 its our day said brad wolfe vicepresident pf operations at the newmarket plant the company produces the everpopular rockets those tangy little tablets that come wrapped in cellophane ready to be devoured by trickbrtreaters halloween accounts for about threequarters of cedes produc tion- the company ships any- where between 10 and 12 million pounds of candy in advance of the big day mr- wolfe said thats about 11 billion tablets talk about a sugar buzz mr wolfe agrees with the gener- auy held assessment tiiat halloween is big arid getting big ger j wed like to think its iftcreas- irig hie said our sales have gone up steadily pverthe years everyone seems to get more involved in if and embraces it for retailers halloween is anf important part of a fierieticyi brisy fourth quarter that canmake or break a year it begins with the back to school rush and concludes with christmas and its getting so the seasons blend with one another in a mas sive shopping blur at this moment inside the dpllarama discount store on newmarkets busy davis drive s halloween is fading into the back ground as christmas emerges masks party favours arid other items are being phased out while a giant display of colourful gift wrap takes up space in the front window it used to be christmas displays werent going up until november but thats all changed dbllarafna manager kimberly ridley said nowjyoure starting to see where youre rriercharidisingboth seasons she said ms ridley said its riot unusual to see seasonspecific merchandise vhitting the shelves well in advance of trie actual day halloween in august anyone im usually about two months ahead of the game ms ridley said people do start buying that early v v they may complain about it but at the same tiriie you see that hand reaching put for it consumers realize theyll get what they want- and get the best barig for their buck if they snap up items the minute they appear on shelves ms ridley said its not so much impulse buyr ing as it is smart hopping she said v indeed it is the diligerit shopper ftiha gets what he tor she wants said ms martino who starts field ing calls months in advance as people book that special costume the majority is last minute but i have regular customers who start renting in june and july she said vandrightnow well right now halloween may- heiti is in full swing with parties happening both this weekend and riext people are phoning and floodgthrough the doors to rent what if takes to fulfill their fantasies r there are those matrix wanriabes of course but also bunches of grapes a henry vhi or two and the everpopular gstririg gina think lots of fakelatexflesh iand a tootiny bikini then there are those creative souls who do it themselves theyre afterliquid latex fake blood and the like as they prepare to sculpt themselves into something or someone else v its a frantic time but a make or break one too ms martino is as busy as she gets all year so where will she be next week end when its halloween party time im just gonna go home and go to sleep she said matterpffacdy i vm w3 m pf elagu v elamppillai successful business in biotech pharmaceutical in markham lhd innuclear physics frorri university of tontox 22 years as an atomic scientist administrator university professor students colincil advisor canadian specialist at united nations scientific committee director joint council of canadian communities jccc for markham improved public transport protection of the environment promotion of green belt zones better hospital services t community safety and law order youth employment better gare for senior citizens lower taxes 9478866 email infoelagu iguca website wwwelaguca t t 17- jji 1