The disguise market - France (2023)

1.2 Two celebrations structure the world panorama

The popularity of festive accessories and fancy dress around the world is based on two types of emblematic events of global scale, which alone carry almost the entire market:

Halloween; Carnivals.

The interest rate for each of these events varies from country to country, but they are the main source of income for those involved in disguise. The market is therefore particularly seasonal. The world market of disguise is not very clear and poorly documented: indeed these products are halfway between ready-to-wear and party accessories. So it is via the prisms of these main events that we will try to approach it and to draw up the panorama.

Halloween in the world

The party is particularly popular in the United States, so last year Americans spent $*.* billion on disguises. This compares to $*.* billion on decorations and $*.* billion on candy. So disguises represent the largest segment by value. [***]

However, this figure is slightly lower than in previous years when the festival was particularly lucrative

Total Planned Spending for Halloween United States, ****-****, US$ billions Source: ****

The festival is also popular with our English neighbours, where in **** it represented almost £*** million in total spending. It is a traditional festival, but spending on it ...

1.3 The French market

The disguise market in France is difficult to estimate. Several websites published articles during ****, where the figure of *** million euros was reported. The latter seems consistent with other information we were able to find during the writing of this study. [***]

The main problem in the market is that imports and exports of disguises are drowned out by imports and exports of ready-to-wear clothing in general. Nevertheless, we have tried to bring as much information as possible to the market.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, or Harmonized System (***), is an international nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization to classify products traded internationally. In the HS, disguises can be associated with the code ******.

****** Festival, carnival or other entertainment items, including sleight of hand and pranks and tricks (***)

Evolution of the balance of trade in festive and carnival goods France, ****-****, in millions of US $ Source: ****

Thus France is mainly an importer of festive costumes and accessories. In addition, exports fell sharply in ****. It is complicated to define the factors that have influenced this drop, however, as far as imports are concerned, which account for most of the market, the value remains fairly stable over time

Main import countries for ...

2.1 Seasonal demand

The Google Trend site allows us to evaluate the periods of the year when a keyword is most searched for. The graph below was made from the keyword "disguise"

Evolution of interest in the word disguise France, ****-****, index *** (***) Source: ****

The results reflect the proportion of searches for a given keyword in a region and for a specific period of time, compared to the region with the highest rate of use of that keyword (***). For example, a value of ** means that the keyword was used half as often in the region concerned, and a value of * means that there is insufficient data for that keyword. We then notice two distinct peaks of research over the course of a year. The first occurs in February-March and coincides with the carnival period in France (***), the second is in October for the Halloween period. We also note that the trend towards the term Halloween costume was particularly pronounced in ****. This is not enough to say that the festival is gaining in popularity in France, but it is a rather positive indicator for the market

This is not evident on the graph but we can say that Christmas is also an important period for the ...

2.2 Halloween in France

A very real and vital demand for the market

Halloween in France is not as popular as in our English neighbours, but it is still extremely important for the market. Whether it's for children ringing the doorbell for candy or for adults getting together for costume parties, Halloween costume is a must at the party

According to LSA Conso, in France, costumes are not the first Halloween purchase in sight, but they still represent a significant part of the purchase intentions

Halloween Purchase Intent by Product Type France, ****, in % Source: ****

While costumes represent only **% of respondents in terms of purchasing intentions, they are still slightly more expensive than beverages or other food products, so the share of costumes in Halloween sales by value can be expected to be higher in the customers' spending basket. The latter, in ****, was estimated by LSA Conso at €** per person

Finally, this study is interesting but it does not allow us to distinguish if the respondents celebrate Halloween themselves or if these purchases are intended for their children. French demand therefore remains slightly opaque, but there is no doubt that it is very real

The popularity of the party still leaves something to be desired..

Nevertheless, ...

2.3 Carnivals: an institution in France

Carnival has been linked to French culture since the Middle Ages. From primary schools to town halls there are a large number of carnivals in France, all with their own particularities and traditions. Thus the carnival of Annecy takes up the Venetian codes, that of Dunkirk is distinguished by its herring throwing while that of Nice proposes the traditional battle of flowers. The carnival has the power to please all generations and is a tradition well anchored in popular culture

The site idéalo.fr has published a computer graphic entitled "The French and Carnival". This infography was mainly made with Google Trend, the same tool we used in *.*

In ****, Burgundy-Franche-Comté has the highest frequency of searches for the keyword carnival, followed by the Grand-Est region in second place, while the PACA region and the Hauts-de-France are tied at *ᵉ.

Computer graphics estimates that the popularity in the Far East region is due to its proximity to Germany. Indeed for our German neighbours, the carnival is also very important. The carnivals of Menton, Nice and Dunkirk are undeniable factors that allow the Hauts-de-France and the PACA region to climb on the podium. It is noticeable that the regions for which the research ...

2.4 Film releases influence demand

Disguise is extremely influenced by the film and video game industry. If demand follows the expected big releases, as with Star Wars movies for example, it can also be caught short if a new movie is a big hit. Supply must therefore make a special effort to follow the desires of the public

Halloween Demand Trends

An article by Cosmopolitan of **** reports the Google ranking (***) of favourite Halloween costumes. Thus it is alongside the must-see in the theme of thrill that we find heroes and heroines of films:

Harley Quinn *. Joker *. Superhero *. Pirate *. Wonder Woman *. Witch *.  Batman *. Star Wars *. Clown **. Dinosaur.

Demand trends for the carnival period

As far as the carnival is concerned, the site Funidelia reports the * categories of disguises preferred by the French that polarize trends in ****. Thus the costumes from the Star Wars universe are in first position, followed by animals, Harry Potter characters, those from the Batman saga and finally the costumes from the Western category (***)

For Funidelia, if Star Wars is so well ranked, it is undoubtedly thanks to the recent release of the last episode of the Skywalker saga and the launch of the series The Mandalorian, viral thanks to its characters like baby ...

2.5 Les déguisements les plus vendus sur Amazon

Une autre façon de jauger l'intérêt des Français est d'analyser les meilleures ventes sur Amazon. Amazon recense les déguisements complets comme les articles seuls

Déguisements pour adultes Lot de *** bracelets fluo Costume Mario Bros Eventail grenade en tissu Robe années **** avec accessoires Déguisement gonflable - licorne Déguisement moine Robe à clapet avec frange et perles Kimono Japonais Déguisement de sirène pour femmes Costume de Spider Man

Déguisements pour enfants Déguisement miraculous Ladybug Robe licorne de princesse Déguisement enfant classique Spider Man Robe Elsa avec accessoires Déguisement Minnie Mouse Aomig Spider Costume Costume Elsa avec baguette et couronne Robe de princesse fille Set de costume de déguisement de pompier avec accessoires Robe princesse fille - déguisement Elsa

3.1 A classic value chain

The diagram below provides a more general view of the value chain that structures the disguise market. This diagram does not capture all the subtleties of the market but represents a faithful overall view. Indeed, the market is rather similar to the ready-to-wear market in its structure.

The actors of the distribution are supplied in festive articles and disguises either directly from subcontracting factories or from wholesalers in disguise products such as Widmann or Atosa. The distributors are of several types:

Unique specialty stores (***) ; Groups with multiple outlets (***) ; Online players with only warehouses on the territory (***) ; Supermarkets (***).

3.2 Specialist retail chains quickly saturated the market

Distribution over the territory

The coverage of the French territory in costume and party shops is homogeneous and very complete. Among these stores, there are chains of specialty stores that have established themselves throughout the territory with an aggressive expansion strategy (***). For example, since ****, close to ** stores of the franchisor Zoe Confetti have appeared on the territory. The supply is also very dense in France, and the market seems saturated

To make a map of all the points of sale of party and costume shops thus seems uninteresting because the map would be drowned under the indications. Nevertheless here are the main signs and their number of shops (***). You will find :

Feast Day ** franchised stores (***) ; Zoe Confetti : ** franchised stores ; Festi ** stores; Party sensation ** stores; Mega Party : * shops (***) ; La Fête * stores; BEL leisure packaging (***) : * stores Vivafiesta : * stores (***).

Recent Financial Operations

The market does not yet seem to have too many financial transactions for the simple reason that it has not been saturated for very long. Massive new store openings are making the competitive landscape denser, and the market should see more store buybacks or takeovers from one group to another over the next few years.

One of the first signs of ...

3.3 Specialised websites: key players in the distribution sector

The online distribution segment is doing well in the competitive environment and continues to strengthen its positions. Fast delivery (***), offered after a certain amount of purchase, loyalty club, satisfied or reimbursed, these sites are gaining in popularity by meeting the expectations of demand and are becoming a lasting part of the market

These players are ***% online and deliver all their products from warehouses. For example, the European leader deguisetoi.fr is located in Isère and supplies the continent from a warehouse in Vaulx-milieu. The particularity of these pure players is that they can easily adapt to different markets by highlighting on the European versions of their site, different products according to the trend of the moment. They are not limited to a local clientele and can claim to capture market share from the stores. Thus the group which owns the site déguisetoi.fr has developed vegaoo.de for the German market. [***]

The site Similarweb allows us to estimate the number of visits to sites on the French market. On the French market we can therefore find :

Deguisetoi.fr (***); Funidelia.fr of the group Funiglobal present in ** countries. (***); Ruedelafete.com of the ASENT group (***).

These sites are owned by different ...

3.4 Supermarkets: kings of distribution on Halloween

The LSA Conso survey mentioned in *.* also reveals the points of sale preferred by customers at the party

Details of preferred distribution channels for Halloween France, **** as a % of Source LSA conso Thus hypermarkets/supermarkets are the outlets favoured by consumers. Nevertheless, LSA conso confirms the rise of the online sales segment. The study reports that online sales have gained * points compared to the **** survey, while supermarkets have lost * points compared to the same year.

4.1 Price typology of specialized market players

Cette partie a pour but de délivrer un aperçu non exhaustif des différents prix disponibles sur le marché, et pour les acteurs spécialisés (***). Ainsi cette partie ne constitue en rien une vérité générale sur le marché, mais doit être prise comme une vision d'ensemble. Comme sur beaucoup de plateforme e-commerce, les prix sont souvent indiqués avec des réductions, nous ne rapportons ici que les prix après réductions. Exemple sur deguisetoi.fr le déguisement de Stormtrooper pour garçon est à **,** € mais le site l'affiche en réduction à **,** €. Nous rapportons ici ce dernier nombre.

Quand on regarde les sites de ventes de déguisement en ligne, il apparaît que le prix d'un déguisement varie en fonction de trois critères :

Sa taille (***) ; Sa complexité (***) ; Sa popularité. 

Les déguisements pour hommes

Ainsi un déguisement pour homme sur deguisetoi.fr varie entre ** et ** €. À titre d'exemple et pour avoir une échelle des prix en popularité décroissante, il faut compter :

** € pour un personnage de la Casa de papel ; ** € pour un déguisement de Lucky Luke ; ** € pour un déguisement de Romain avec couronne ; ** € pour un déguisement de ...

4.2 Structure of the offer: products for all tastes and for the whole family

The offer of deguisetoi.fr (***) is very structured. It is declined in several categories and each category contains sub-categories:

Disguises adults ;

Genre (***).

Disguises children ;

Genre (***).

Disguises couples ;

Genre (***).

Hats ;

Types (***)

Wigs ;

Gender (***)

Accessories ;

Gender (***).

Make-up ;

Types (***).

Masks ;

Types (***).

Decorations ;

Types (***)

5.1 General regulations

The regulations for the disguise market are those that apply more generally to the marketing of ready-to-wear clothing. Thus all products available for sale must first comply with the labelling (***).

Labelling standards :

According to the ministry of Economic Development the textile and clothing sector is governed by European Regulation No ****/****, which lays down rules on :

the names of textile fibres, the labelling of textile products and the particulars appearing on labels, markings and documents accompanying textile products at the various stages of production, processing and distribution. determination of the fibre composition of textile products by quantitative analysis of binary and ternary textile fibre mixtures.

In Regulation (***) No ****/****, there are no information requirements other than that of indicating on the label the fibre composition of textile products such as clothing sizes, care instructions, country of origin. However, some of the information not provided for in the Regulation may be required by other EU legislation or by Member States. Where information is not mandatory, for example country of origin, economic operators may disclose information on a voluntary basis, provided it is not false or misleading to consumers.

Safety and environmental standards :

The textile goods must comply with the provisions of general EU legislation ...

5.2 Accessory regulations

Accessories must comply with certain regulations, especially when it comes to targeting a children's audience

The standard NF EN **-* : **** A* : **** The "Necklace and Jewelry Test", sets the results to be achieved by a necklace or jewelry for a child to a resistance test;

For example, the thread must withstand a lot of pressure to prevent the beads on a necklace from coming loose: they could be swallowed by the child. Similarly, the size of a necklace must prevent any risk of strangulation.

The european Directive ****/**/EC which specifically details everything related to toy safety

In particular, a costume accessory must not be sharp and a child must not risk swallowing it. In some cases, warnings will need to appear on the packaging: if the disguise is not suitable for children under ** months of age, for example, or if certain items present a choking hazard. [***]

6.1 Segmentation

• Jour de fête (TBMD)
• Zoe Confetti
• Deguisetoi (Jadeo France)
• Festi
• Cesar
• Rubie’s Costume company
• Ledéguisement.com
• Bel Emballages Loisirs (leroidelafête.fr)
• Tuttifiesta
• Fête Sensation