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Some Spirit Halloweens Will Become Spirit Christmas Stores This Holiday Season
Go ahead, sit on Santa’s lap. He won’t try to kill you.
Depending on your location, there’s a chance that Santa Claus will show up to your closest Spirit Halloween store this holiday season. Not a zombified or axe-toting version, but the real thing. That’s because the Halloween retail chain is experimenting with a new business strategy that will see its macabre inventory make room for all things Christmas.
According to People, the franchise is planning to convert several Spirit Halloween stores in the Northeast to Spirit Christmas hubs. (A total of 10 locations are planned, though some will be newly-opened rather than replacing the original store.) Shoppers will be greeted by an animatronic Santa Claus before shopping for gifts, decorations, and other seasonal goods. The stores will also offer meet-ups with Santa.
“Guests can meet Santa for their annual Christmas card photo and receive a free digital postcard featuring you and Santa,” a Spirit the spokesperson told the publication. “Wander through the life-sized gingerbread village, where you can mail your letter to Santa at the North Pole and find out whether you’ve been naughty or nice.”
This isn’t Spirit’s first metamorphosis. The chain originally spun out of a Spirit Women’s Discount Apparel store in California. When owner Joe Marver realized how much business a nearby costume shop was getting, he decided to give it a Halloween makeover in 1983.
Marver later sold the business to Spencer Gifts. In 2005, Spencer’s experimented with leaving some Spirit stores open for holiday shopping, though the idea didn’t appear to catch on at the time.
Spirit typically hunts for vacant commercial buildings with a strong anchor store (Target, Walmart, groceries) and begins prepping the spaces in August. The move to Christmas would appear to be a win-win for both the company and its landlords. Spirit can use the existing staff and infrastructure to extend their business window; building owners get more money.
You can find Spirit Christmas locations in the following cities beginning October 18:
- Consumer Square // Mays Landing, New Jersey
- Willow Ridge // Marlton, New Jersey
- Market Place at Brick // Brick Township, New Jersey
- The Plaza at Woodbridge // Woodbridge, New Jersey
- Colonie Center // Albany, New York
- Sayville Plaza // Bohemia, New York
- Chestnut Plaza // Poughkeepsie, New York
- Mill Creek Mall // Erie, Pennsylvania
- Crystal Mall // Waterford, Connecticut
- Faunce Corner Shopping Center // Dartmouth, Massachusetts
At least one merchandise rack will remain the same: their assortment of ugly Christmas sweaters.
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