As brick and mortar retailers close stores throughout the U.S., Spirit Halloween Stores continue onward and upward. Since 1983, Spirit has grown to more than 1,300 stores across the U.S. and Canada.
What’s the key to its staying power throughout the “retail apocalypse” that’s claimed major retailers like Sears and Toys-R-Us? Here are 5 lessons your business can learn from Spirit.
5 Lessons Your Business Can Learn From Spirit Halloween Stores
- Lease Agreements
Sign short-term, flexible leases. There’s a sense of pride in having a year-round storefront location, but signing a long-term lease is not ideal for every business. In the case of Spirit, signing a 6-8 week lease is the sweet spot. Your brand can prepare for customer elasticity by carefully negotiating a lease duration that works for both you and the leasing company. - Pop-Up Shopping
Consider opening a pop-up store to test the viability of a location. For some shops, a bad location may be impossible to rebound from. Moving one block over could be the difference in staying in business. Spirit continually tests new locations and doubles down on homerun locations. Smaller brands that may not be seasonal can ask a larger retailer if they can open a pop-up shop in their department store. It’s a win-win because it allows smaller brands to gain visibility and allows the retailer to earn a pop-up shop fee. - Operations Scaling
Learn to scale your operations with consumer demand. Spirit has mastered the art of supply and demand economics. It is able to scale operations when the demand for Halloween costumes reaches a peak; then it scales down operations on Nov 1st when the demand decreases. You may want to focus on scaling in other ways like finding suppliers of products and services that allow you to avoid excess supply. In return, you can lower costs and run a more efficient operation. - Business Challenges
Overcome business challenges by having a plan A, B, and C. Spirit does an incredible job of successfully dealing with roadblocks. When a prime location becomes signed to a permanent tenant, they search for a new location. In the event that they have no location, they create a tent location in an empty lot. Don’t let an obstacle determine your success or failure. - Customer Experience
Make sure your customer experience is top-notch. Spirit has nailed down customer interaction by giving customers an unforgettable experience at their retail locations. Besides the product and services Spirit offers, they make it fun to enter their stores and interact with their staff. You can follow suit by hosting holiday parties or creating festive greetings for your business phone system.
Halloween and Beyond
Whether you have a national seasonal business like Spirit Stores or Radioshack or run a full-time operation, business never sleeps. A cloud-based phone system and business texting service is the best way to keep your business flowing like a well-oiled machine and allows your business to scale up or down according to seasonal traffic. Customize your holiday greetings, set advanced call routing schedules, and easily add users as business grows. Best of all, our business phone plans are backed by 24/7 support – even on Halloween night.
