The arrival of fall also means the arrival, in many places, of a Spirit Halloween store.
asserted
arrival → mean → store
The pop-up retailer that specializes in costumes, decorations, and party supplies for spooky season is almost ubiquitous during September and October, with over 1,500 seasonal locations in shopping centers and strip malls across North America.
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that → pop → America
The brand’s ability to set up shop quickly and then disappear in November is the stuff of legend.
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ability → set → legend
But the temporary nature of a Spirit—and the way they tend to inhabit big, empty storefronts—can leave people with mixed feeling.
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they → tend → feeling
Some might look at Spirit taking over a former Party City as the work of an involved landlord, seeking to keep foot traffic up until another long-term lease is signed.
uncertain
lease → look → traffic
Others might worry that a Spirit is a last-ditch effort to squeeze a few bucks out of a dying area.
uncertain
Spirit → worry → area
And either direction could be a sign of things to come for the broader market and your home directly.
uncertain
direction → come → market
Experts say it comes down to the broader context of the area, rather than just the Spirit itself.
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it → say → Spirit
How did Spirit Halloween get here?
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Halloween → get → ?
Spirit Halloween has been offering its pop-up retail experience since 1983.
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Halloween → offer → 1983
The heart of its strategy lies in finding large, vacant commercial spaces, and convincing the landlords to agree to short-term leases.
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heart → lie → leases
An empty Party City or Bed, Bath, and Beyond is a prime opportunity for Spirit to move in, even temporarily.
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Spirit → move → ?
“We like to locate our stores in power centers, strip centers, free-standing stores, major downtown retail locations and in major malls surrounded by a national retailer mix,” says the Spirit Halloween website.
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website → like → mix
It also notes they look for communities with a population of approximately 35,000-plus, living within a 3-5 mile radius, and a car count of at least 25,000 cars per day.
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they → note → day
So while Spirit’s physical footprint only lasts a few months, the effort to locate the right places to set up shop is a year-round endeavor.
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effort → last → shop
Don’t let the gaudy costumes and masks fool you: this is a savvy operation.
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this → let → you
“Spirit is an opportunistic real estate player,” says Todd Drowlette, the managing director of TITAN Commercial Realty Group in Albany, NY.
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Drowlette → say → Albany
“They target busy, regional locations with high traffic counts and traffic generators in the center or retail corridor like Target, Walmart, or grocery stores.
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They → target → Target
Landlords will do deals with them, because they are short term deals and Spirit typically takes the locations ‘as is’ so it is basically some cash flow for the property owner while the vacant space is being marketed.
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space → do → owner
In short, a Spirit Halloween is often a win-win-win—for the business itself, for the landlord of the building they inhabit, and for shoppers looking for an accessible way to find costumes ahead of trick-or-treating.
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they → inhabit → trick
Do they target areas in ascent or decline?
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they → target → ascent
Just because Spirit’s model is savvy doesn’t mean it’s not kind of funny.
A Bed, Bath, and Beyond in a space may have once signaled something like adulthood and maturity—while a Spirit Halloween is kitschy and silly.
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Halloween → mean → adulthood
And to top it off, the store literally “haunts” an abandoned retail space.
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store → top → space
You can forgive people for thinking that a Spirit arriving isn’t necessarily a sign of economic strength.
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Spirit → forgive → strength
“I think Spirit is the visible indicator that consumers see and think ‘retail apocalypse’ and can be the butt of jokes,” says Stephanie D’Amico, VP at CrossMarc Services, a commercial real estate advisory in Winter Park, FL.
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D’Amico → think → Park
But those who understand commercial retail know that an empty storefront with a temporary tenant is just part of the business.
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storefront → understand → business
“Having a vacancy is not a harbinger of the death of retail.
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Having → have → retail
Retail is just evolving,” she says.
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she → evolve → ?
“It could end up being filled long-term by a new grocery concept, a new online retailer looking for brick and mortar like a Wayfair, or just another relocation of a similar tenant in the market.”
uncertain
It → end → market
D’Amico also argues that a shopping center that invites a Spirit is better than one that leaves the space empty.
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that → argue → space
“Halloween is a huge industry, so a Spirit or similar type use is a great way to bring in shopping center traffic,” she says.
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she → bring → traffic
Where a Spirit could be seen as a sign of decline is when you see it pop up in the same place more than once—like deja vu.
uncertain
it → see → vu
“If Spirit rents the same vacancy two years in a row, that is a serious red flag for that shopping center and market potentially,” says Drowlette.
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Drowlette → rent → center
“Most spaces rented by Spirit are leased by the time the following Halloween season comes back around.
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season → rent → time
If that same space is still empty by spring, it’s fair to worry about that location’s long-term viability.
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it → ’ → viability
And sometimes it’s the absence of a Spirit that should bother locals, says Drowlette.
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Drowlette → ’ → locals
If you have multiple shopping centers with several larger vacancies where a Spirit could live, that could be the sign of a domino effect of business failure.
uncertain
that → have → failure
Better to see four Spirit Halloween’s in one high-density city—even if it feels like overkill—than four empty storefronts.
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it → see → storefronts
So what does it mean if a Spirit Halloween, or even more than one, moves into your neighborhood?
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Halloween → mean → neighborhood
“A Spirit Halloween store near you does not have any direct impact on your home’s property values,” says Drowlette.
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Drowlette → have → values
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
