Not much is certain in life other than death, taxes, and the emergence of your local Spirit Halloween store every fall, just in time for spooky season.
The business model seems simple: target a niche group that only requires you to be open for a couple of months, then disappear, leaving your clientele wondering if you went out of business before popping back up again the next year.
While it may not exactly be like that, Spirit Halloween has become an iconic part of fall in the United States and Canada, as the company operates more than 1,400 locations in North America.
The costume and all things spooky retailer sets up shop in vacant buildings and mall locations starting in August. Then, just months later, it clears out sometime in November.
The iconic appearance and disappearance of the stores have become so popular that, like the stores, Spirit Halloween-themed memes seemingly pop up throughout certain points of the year as well.
But with such a strange business model, how does the Halloween retailer stay in business?
Part of the equation has to do with popularity and its ability to move anywhere, as “no store is too large (or too small),” the company says.
According to Rachel Quednau, the program director for Strong Towns, an urban planning advocacy group that emphasizes incremental city planning, the retailer thrives on its competitors that have failed.
“Spirit is pretty much a bottom-feeder business that works only at the expense of other stores; if there weren’t vacant storefronts, this business wouldn’t exist,” Quednau wrote.
From January to August, the company begins its process of finding abandoned buildings and storefronts ranging in size from 5,000 to 50,000 square feet.
After finding a potential building, the company then works to secure a temporary lease, allowing it to open and operate in the building that would otherwise be unusable within their local economies.
When it comes to the store’s popularity, it’s not only inspired countless memes and posts on social media but it’s also inspired artists in the music industry.
Nick Lutsko, a singer and songwriter, spoke with NPR in 2021 about the store and a song he wrote about the spooky retailer titled “Spirit Halloween Theme.”
Lutsko says that the store is more than just a place to buy your costume for this year’s party as it’s become a part of pop culture.
“It’s a physical manifestation of Halloween. You’re driving to work, and you see a Spirit Halloween pop up — and it’s like, ‘OK, it’s happening,’” he told NPR.