'Frozen' Characters Holding Strong For Costume Of The Year

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Last week, Planet Money's Stacey Vanek Smith took us inside the world of costume shops. She introduced us to Richard Parrott who runs Ricky's, a Costume chain in New York City. All year he and his team work to predict what you might want to be for Halloween. And that forecast informs what they ask for from suppliers. Sometimes it's easy. He told Stacey his forecast for this year was all about the Disney movie "Frozen."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

RICHARD PARROTT: 'Cause, you know, I have a six-year-old boy and when my boy can sing the lyrics to all the "Frozen" songs...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FROZEN")

KRISTEN BELL: (As Anna, singing) Do you want to build a snowman?

PARROTT: I said I'm going to buy absolutely every piece I can get of that.

CORNISH: So we checked back in with him today and he was unsurprisingly correct.

PARROTT: So correct, that actually I'm sending my staff out into the field to buy out our competitors' "Frozen" category.

CORNISH: So that prediction was right on. What he didn't forecast was quick sales of Ted costumes.

PARROTT: Ted, the furry bear costume, has been wildly popular. We bought into it last year and it really - it bombed.

CORNISH: This is the vulgar chain-smoking bear from that Mark Wahlberg movie two years ago? Richard Parrott is glad he held onto last year's stock.

PARROTT: This year I can't believe it's almost as popular as "Frozen" for men. It's crazy.

CORNISH: He can't explain the sudden popularity of Ted, but at $100 a suit, he's not questioning it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.