𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚: 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐞, 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

Universal Beijing put two western horror franchises, A Quiet Place and M3GAN, in its 2026 Halloween lineup.

Yet fans are waiting up to three hours to meet Chinese grave robbers instead.

They come from The Grave Robbers' Chronicles, a tomb-raiding saga by novelist Nanpai Sanshu. Its maze, and one based on the Chinese game Identity V, draws the crowds: on peak days, their express passes sell out first.

Pop Mart saw the same split: its 2022 Halloween tie-in with The Conjuring, a Hollywood horror film, drew little buzz. In 2025 it put its own characters, Labubu included, in Halloween costumes, and the boxes sold out online within minutes.

My read, in Clayton Christensen's terms: young Chinese hire Halloween for one job, a safe stage where they can become someone else for a night and be seen doing it. They even call it 万梗节, All Memes Day, because the costumes riff on the year's viral jokes.

A borrowed character does that job less well than one you already love, or one from a story you grew up with.

The stage matters as much as the story: Shanghai Disneyland lets adults come in costume, and its Halloween parties come with a regular day ticket. That ticket works as a permission slip.

For retailers, the calendar matters too: Halloween lands inside the Double 11 presale window, which opened on Tmall on October 15 this year. Its money comes from the night out: tickets, express passes, limited drops and paid photos with favorite characters. It’s more a content moment than a sales peak.

Three rules reach well beyond Halloween:

The costume travels: dressing up, a night out, a photo to share.

The characters have to be local, because people pay to meet the ones they already love.

The stage has to be granted, and the venue that grants it captures the night.

These rules apply to any ritual a brand carries across a border, from Black Friday in Asia to Singles' Day in Europe, so before you import the next one, ask what job it will do for customers in that market and whose story will wear the costume.

Which ritual is your team importing next, and who will own the stage?

#ChinaRetail #ExperientialRetail #BrandStrategy #Halloween #JobToBeDone

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bruno.gentil@sherpaconsultingasia.com

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