Halloween is an extremely lucrative time for a company that has been all about the spooky season since 1984.
The first location of this extremely popular Halloween store opened in the Castro Valley Village Shopping Center in the Bay Area of California, and its success quickly spread to other locations. By 1999, there were over 60 locations, and today there are over 1,500 from coast to coast.
There will be no shortage here in Illinois, with plans for 50 locations across the state.
You’ve probably already guessed the name of the Halloween shop I’m talking about here:
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Spirit Halloween has transformed empty stores into lucrative pop-up spots, generating over $400 million in sales in 2015 and $1.1 billion in 2023.
It’s a fantastic success story, but it’s a little sad to see all the store closures that paved the way for Spirit Halloween to take over their former locations. Take a look around at what was once where a Spirit Halloween store is now located. They have closed locations of:
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Kmart
- Sears
- Tuesday morning
- Big lots
- Toys R Us
- Race track city
- Sherwin-Williams
And that’s exactly what Spirit Halloween is looking for, according to their website. Here are some of their criteria for opening a new location:
- Temporary 3-MONTH rental contracts with a termination clause
- Since the Spirit locations open on or around September 1st and remain open through November 1st, our ideal lease would run from mid-July to mid-November.
- We like to locate our stores in power centers, strip malls, freestanding stores, large downtown retail locations and in large shopping centers surrounded by a mix of national retailers.
- Our goal is to locate in communities that 1) have a population of over 35,000, 2) live within a 3-5 mile radius, and 3) handle at least 25,000 cars per day. Our flexibility is key! While our ideal locations offer 5,000 to 5,500 square feet of retail space with excellent visibility, no store is too big (or too small).
Two locations in Northern Illinois are already open, and there are numerous Spirit Halloween stores opening soon or already in operation throughout the rest of Illinois.
The Loves Park Spirit Halloween at 1504 E. Riverside (in a former Sherwin Williams location) is in operation, as is the Rockford location at 6669 E. State Street.
To view all remaining Spirit Halloween stores in Illinois and their hours, click here. Visit the Spirit Halloween website for a complete list of locations.
Want to scare your neighbors? Of course you do. Check these out:
WATCH: 25 Allegedly Haunted Places Across America
Gallery Credits: Stacker
