Cappel's keeps Halloween spirit alive after 81 years
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Cappel's has adapted to the changing face of the costume business, while staying true to its roots. Photos: Casey Weldon/Axios
Online shopping? Pop-up Halloween stores? Ray and Steffi Cappel aren't scared. The couple is still having fun running the family's 81-year-old costume shop in Cincinnati.
Why it matters: Halloween has become a much bigger part of Cappel's costume and decoration business in recent years, helping the longtime retailer overcome modern competitors.
Flashback: Ray, 72, practically grew up in the store, which his father and uncle founded downtown in 1945.
- He started working there in grade school and bought it with his cousin in 1990.
- What began as a supplier of department store displays evolved into a destination for costumes and other party supplies, with over 50,000 items across its four locations.
- "There's such a big difference between looking at it in person and looking at it on a computer screen," Ray says. "I guess people appreciate that."
State of play: Costumes and other wearable products have demand around Christmas, Easter and other holidays.
- But Halloween is Cappel's biggest season, accounting for up to 50% of annual business, by Ray's estimate.
Zoom in: Popular choices this year include cheeseburgers, pickles, peanut butter and jelly, scary clowns, Michael Myers and characters from "Toy Story."
- Ray says he still gets a kick out of how costume makers find new ways to keep familiar characters popular.
- "I keep scratching my head and I'm thinking, what could you possibly have that's going to be new for 'Scream' this year?" he says with a laugh. "But every year they have something."
The bottom line: After 81 years, Cappel's is still drawing generations of Cincinnati families, including parents who remember shopping there as kids.
- "It's just neat to know that they come back with their own kids," Ray says.