National costume retailer Spirit Halloween has once again creeped into the St. Charles Plaza Shopping Center in Luling earlier this month, positioning the store opening ahead of this year’s fast-approaching Halloween season.
The store, located at 12715 Highway 90, now occupies the former Sears location within the shopping center, as it did in 2022. Spirit Halloween celebrates its 40th year this year, marking its anniversary in 2023 with a new in store “Spirit Hallows Cemetery” display in its stores, featuring a curated collection of animatronics items.
“Home to various undead animatronics, both old and new, upon entering the Spirit Hallows Cemetery, you’ll be sure to come face to face with some of its most terrifying inhabitants,” Spirit Halloween’s website promises.
According to real estate news site Bisnow, the Luling store will become one of 1,500 locations across the United States and Canada this Halloween season the chain will open, up from 1,450 stores last year. The national retailer will have a total of 11 stores in 2023 located in Louisiana, with most – like the Luling location – situated in Southern Louisiana.
The retail chain, based out of Egg Harbor Township in New Jersey, markets itself as the “world’s number one Halloween costume store,” selling a large selection of designs and variations of Halloween costumes, decorations, animatronics and related Halloween accessories. Spirit Halloween is one of two major holdings owned by Spencer Spirit Holdings, which also operates national mall retailer Spencer’s.
Spirit Halloween’s real estate strategy is to negotiate temporary three-month leases inside retail locations with available vacancies, such as the St. Charles Plaza Shopping Center, provided the locations meet certain demographic criteria. Anchor store vacancies left by big-box retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears and others create the ideal opportunity for seasonal retailer Spirit Halloween to temporarily lease available prime retail space.
“Since Spirit locations open on or about September 1 and remain open through November 1, our ideal lease would run from mid-July through mid-November,” according to Spirit’s company website. “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 retail mix.”
The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween Consumer Survey predicted last year Halloween spending would hit a record $10.6 billion in consumer spending exceeding pre-pandemic levels, a figure that was up from the prior year’s record of $10.1 billion. Retail Halloween spending predictions for 2023 had not yet been released as of press time.
The Spirit Halloween store in Luling is expected to remain open until early November, with operating hours most days 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. except for Sundays, when it opens at Noon and closes at 6 p.m.
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