Posted on Oct 29, 2022
It's spooky how fast Spirit Halloween stores pop up. Here's how the retailer does it
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https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/ [login to see] /spirit-halloween
In the world of spooky commerce, there's one name that rises above the rest: Spirit Halloween. The seasonal retailer sells costumes, decorations and just about anything else somebody might need for Halloween.
Despite only operating from early August to early November, Spirit Halloween has become as much a part of the fall season as pumpkin patches and sweater weather, and with more than 1,400 locations in the United States in Canada, it's not hard to understand why.
Spirit Halloweens are everywhere. They appear seemingly overnight, taking over vacant buildings, then they disappear — only for the cycle to repeat itself next year
In the world of spooky commerce, there's one name that rises above the rest: Spirit Halloween. The seasonal retailer sells costumes, decorations and just about anything else somebody might need for Halloween.
Despite only operating from early August to early November, Spirit Halloween has become as much a part of the fall season as pumpkin patches and sweater weather, and with more than 1,400 locations in the United States in Canada, it's not hard to understand why.
Spirit Halloweens are everywhere. They appear seemingly overnight, taking over vacant buildings, then they disappear — only for the cycle to repeat itself next year
It's spooky how fast Spirit Halloween stores pop up. Here's how the retailer does it
Posted from npr.org
Retail
Halloween
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Why the spaces are empty to begin with
Spirit Halloween is a byproduct of what Strong Towns calls The Suburban Experiment, an approach to urban development that invests heavily in permanent structures — large retail buildings being a prime example of this. This kind of development requires big upfront investment, and the spaces it creates are hard to repurpose if, say, a chain goes out of business.
If a Sears or Toys R Us shuts down, for example, it's not easy to find another tenant to take over the space.
"So many businesses — a small restaurant, a small clothing store, whatever — would never be able to afford, or just wouldn't need, that huge amount of space," Quednau told Morning Edition.
That's where Spirit stores come in. The company takes advantage of these abandoned spaces and fills them — temporarily bringing otherwise vacant buildings back to life during the spookiest time of the year.
The phenomenon of Spirit Halloween is one of holiday celebration, but it's also one of urban planning and innovation. Currently, the free market can't figure out how to use abandoned retail spaces, and until it does, Spirit Halloween is likely to keep coming back."
..."Why the spaces are empty to begin with
Spirit Halloween is a byproduct of what Strong Towns calls The Suburban Experiment, an approach to urban development that invests heavily in permanent structures — large retail buildings being a prime example of this. This kind of development requires big upfront investment, and the spaces it creates are hard to repurpose if, say, a chain goes out of business.
If a Sears or Toys R Us shuts down, for example, it's not easy to find another tenant to take over the space.
"So many businesses — a small restaurant, a small clothing store, whatever — would never be able to afford, or just wouldn't need, that huge amount of space," Quednau told Morning Edition.
That's where Spirit stores come in. The company takes advantage of these abandoned spaces and fills them — temporarily bringing otherwise vacant buildings back to life during the spookiest time of the year.
The phenomenon of Spirit Halloween is one of holiday celebration, but it's also one of urban planning and innovation. Currently, the free market can't figure out how to use abandoned retail spaces, and until it does, Spirit Halloween is likely to keep coming back."
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