WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Story of Spirit Halloween

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck and Jerry's here too, sitting in for Dave, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>and that makes this short stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>Big. Thanks to Medium, Nprstrongtowns dot Org, the list in

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg for this.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll bet, I'll bet I can guess the Strongtowns dot

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<v Speaker 1>Org section. I want to read part of it. Okay, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So Chuck, we're talking today about Spirit Halloween, not the

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<v Speaker 1>spirit of Halloween, as Jerry likes to say, just spirit Halloween, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And if you live outside of the United States, you

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<v Speaker 1>might not know what that is. As far as I know,

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<v Speaker 1>they're not out of North America yet, but just give

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<v Speaker 1>it some time as Halloween spread, so too, we'll spirit Halloween.

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<v Speaker 1>Spirit Halloween in the US is well known for being

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<v Speaker 1>essentially a giant Halloween pop up store that sprout up

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<v Speaker 1>like mushrooms all over the country in abandoned well old malls,

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<v Speaker 1>old big box stores that are no longer in use,

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<v Speaker 1>strip malls, anywhere they can set up shop with about

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<v Speaker 1>seven to ten thousand square feet and start selling a

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<v Speaker 1>halloweench mortgas board of stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. They have more than I think, more than

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen hundred. I also sell fourteen hundred, so somewhere in

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<v Speaker 2>that range of stores, again only seasonal locations, and it

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<v Speaker 2>has become a meme that's kind of fun around Halloween,

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<v Speaker 2>whenever there's an abandoned thing or anything that would be

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<v Speaker 2>funny to put a Spirit Halloween banner across. One of

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<v Speaker 2>the most fun ones I saw was when like the

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<v Speaker 2>US government shuts down because they can't agree on a

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<v Speaker 2>funding bill, there will be like a Spirit Halloween banner

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<v Speaker 2>memed over the White House, that kind of thing, because

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<v Speaker 2>that's what they do. I looked up today just for funsies.

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<v Speaker 2>Atlanta the Metro Atlanta area has twenty one Spirit Halloweens

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<v Speaker 2>this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe someday we'll get to that twenty two.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe I mean some just within miles of one another. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>but this is not the most unusual thing in the world.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a long tradition of pop ups and seasonal pop

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<v Speaker 2>ups here in North America, certainly around Christmas time, with

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<v Speaker 2>Christmas tree lots, some seasonal Christmas shops opening up and

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<v Speaker 2>popping up, carnivals, flea markets, that kind of thing. America

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<v Speaker 2>is well known for having these kind of temporary businesses

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<v Speaker 2>that pop up for a week or two, maybe in

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<v Speaker 2>this case a short season, and then they shut it

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<v Speaker 2>down and that place is now a parking lot again

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<v Speaker 2>or an old rich way that is no longer in business.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is the part that I'm guessing where Strongtowns

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<v Speaker 1>dot Org comes in, because this section seems really emphatic

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<v Speaker 1>about discussing how great pop up stores are for local communities.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Quote, I'd like to read because I think it's awesome. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>there's plenty to like and appreciate about a temporary shop

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<v Speaker 1>that provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to sell their wares

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<v Speaker 1>and activates an empty space.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that was definitely from Strong down Stuff for.

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<v Speaker 1>So back to Spirit Halloween, because yes, there's other seasonal

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<v Speaker 1>pop up stores, but this is the seasonal pop up

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<v Speaker 1>store we're talking about. It was founded about forty years

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<v Speaker 1>ago in the early eighties by a guy named Joe Marver,

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<v Speaker 1>and he didn't start out selling halloween stuff, So he

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<v Speaker 1>started out selling reasonably priced women's apparel.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the store was called Just Spirit Women's Discount Apparel.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a little wordy. As the story goes, he

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<v Speaker 2>was working in that store or you know, owning that

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<v Speaker 2>store and working there, I guess in October, looked across

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<v Speaker 2>the street and there was a Halloween costume shop that

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<v Speaker 2>was killing it, and he was just like, nobody's buying

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<v Speaker 2>in my discounted women's apparel. Everyone's buying these Halloween costumes.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at this dress with the shoulder pads. You could

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<v Speaker 1>turn this down.

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<v Speaker 2>It's almost the costume in itself. And he was like,

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<v Speaker 2>all right, I'm struggling here. They seem to be onto something.

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<v Speaker 2>Eventually that like, that's where the seat is planned. Eventually

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<v Speaker 2>that costume shop moves locations, and then Joe sees his

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<v Speaker 2>opportunity and is like, nuts to these dresses. They're going

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<v Speaker 2>in storage. October is approaching fast, and I'm gonna sell

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<v Speaker 2>Halloween stuff. And he sells through the roof and is like,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm onto something here.

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<v Speaker 1>So yes, he has the best October he's ever had.

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<v Speaker 1>Like you said, he thinks he's onto something. So the

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<v Speaker 1>next year he does it again, but this time, rather

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<v Speaker 1>than put all his dresses in storage, he leases a

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<v Speaker 1>temporary space. So he's starting to see like the contours

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<v Speaker 1>of spirit Halloween forming at the edges here. And in

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<v Speaker 1>thirty days he sells one hundred thousand I'm assuming early eighties,

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred thousand dollars. Yeah, it was worth of Halloween

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<v Speaker 1>stuff in just again thirty days. And he was like,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm definitely onto something here. I'm going to go all

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<v Speaker 1>in on this Halloween thing. And sure, I'll sell some

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<v Speaker 1>dresses during the rest of the year, but this Halloween

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<v Speaker 1>thing is really a big deal to me. Now.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and this is a quote that I've actually seen

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<v Speaker 2>from Joe Marburn that I still can't make sense of.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't invent temporary sales, but I feel like I

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<v Speaker 2>invented temporary Halloween.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't understand that, because what is permanent Halloween?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Halloween had been like a twelve month out of

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<v Speaker 1>the year tradition until Joe Marvar came along, right.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess. So, So that one that's just sort of

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<v Speaker 2>a funny quote. He seems like that kind of guy.

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<v Speaker 1>So I say, we take a break and we'll come

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<v Speaker 1>back and talk about how the thing grew from that one,

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<v Speaker 1>that one empty store, to say, fifteen hundred locations, twenty

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<v Speaker 1>one of them in Atlanta alone.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Stuff, you should know, stop, you should I should know.

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<v Speaker 2>All Right, So Joe Marber is crushing it. Over the

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<v Speaker 2>next fifteen years, he grows to about sixty pop ups.

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<v Speaker 2>This is roughly ninety seven ninety eight or so, and

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<v Speaker 2>the name of the store is officially Spirit Halloween by

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<v Speaker 2>that point. It changed along the way, and he said,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, one of the big keys to his growth

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<v Speaker 2>plan is presence, like billboards and stuff like that, ads,

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<v Speaker 2>getting like you mentioned, maybe up to a ten thousand

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<v Speaker 2>square foot storefront, hopefully close to another big anchor store

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<v Speaker 2>like a wal Mart or a Target or something like that,

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<v Speaker 2>or maybe a popular shopping center, and then to expand.

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<v Speaker 2>The other key is to expand beyond just costumes, so

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<v Speaker 2>you can get like anything Halloween in there. Decorations are

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<v Speaker 2>a big, big part of what they sell.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you want a plastic battle axe to use for

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<v Speaker 1>your LARPing during the rest of the year, you go

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<v Speaker 1>to Spirit Halloween here in the United States, that's right,

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<v Speaker 1>but you.

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<v Speaker 2>Better do it between August and November.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's crazy that they even open in early August,

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<v Speaker 1>but I guess that's true, even though it turns out

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<v Speaker 1>that they do most of their business the last two

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<v Speaker 1>weeks of October, which duh, Yeah, I can't remember. There

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<v Speaker 1>was a Simpsons episode that where somebody invested in pumpkin

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<v Speaker 1>futures and that they paid off in like November. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't remember who that happened to. I want to say

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<v Speaker 1>Principal Skinner doesn't sound right.

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<v Speaker 4>That's funny.

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<v Speaker 1>So it turns out that Joe Marv doesn't own Spirit

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<v Speaker 1>Halloween anymore. He founded it, but he also sold it

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen ninety nine. He was probably worried about the

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<v Speaker 1>Y two K bug and he's like, this is your

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<v Speaker 1>problem now, and he sold it to Spencer's Gifts, which

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<v Speaker 1>makes a lot of sense now that I hear it.

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<v Speaker 1>I believe Spencer's is still around. I think it's gone

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<v Speaker 1>more toward like a journey or a Pacific Coast kind

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<v Speaker 1>of place, whereas before it was this weird mashup of

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<v Speaker 1>everything sexy, bongie, grateful, deady, like the weird plasma ball

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<v Speaker 1>that you touch and the electricity goes to your hand,

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<v Speaker 1>but somehow it doesn't electrocute you. Like all of that

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<v Speaker 1>stuff was in Spencer's Gifts. It was the place to

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<v Speaker 1>go in the mall when you were ten years old

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<v Speaker 1>in the eighties.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh you bet, especially if you're a young Baptist kid,

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<v Speaker 2>because you could you could be like, hey, mom, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to go here to look at posters, and you

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<v Speaker 2>know the posters were probably women in bikinis on a Lamborghini.

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<v Speaker 2>That was also the for boating section. Remember that one

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<v Speaker 2>that had all manner of bedroom toys.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, like legit ones, not just like Gag Gift, like

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<v Speaker 1>you know the heavy Hitters, right, there was actually one

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<v Speaker 1>called the heavy hit probably, but.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you could if you were in the wrong part

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<v Speaker 2>of Spencer Gifts when you were a ten or twelve

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<v Speaker 2>year old. It was a very embarrassing thing for me,

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<v Speaker 2>but very titillating as well at the same time. So anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>legendary eighties store, as the legend has it, they were

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<v Speaker 2>Joe marbur was at a trade show in Manhattan. The

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<v Speaker 2>executive from Spencer Gift says, come with me, gets them

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<v Speaker 2>in a limo, takes them to Spencer headquarters in New Jersey,

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<v Speaker 2>cuts them a big check. It's an undisclosed them out.

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<v Speaker 2>Could not find out how much, but it had to

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<v Speaker 2>have been a lot of money because in twenty thirteen,

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<v Speaker 2>this is eleven years ago, half Spencer Gifts yearly earnings,

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<v Speaker 2>which was about two hundred and fifty million back then,

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<v Speaker 2>came from Spirit Halloween. I guarantee you it's way way

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<v Speaker 2>more than that ban now.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for sure. So just to kind of get back

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<v Speaker 1>into the nuts and bolts, they hire about twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>thousand temporary employees just for you know, that August to

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<v Speaker 1>the end of October. The stores officially closed on November two.

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<v Speaker 1>Little known fact Spirit Halloween is a twelve month a

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<v Speaker 1>year business online. Yeah, of course, it's just as retail

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<v Speaker 1>stores aren't open during that time. And even before they

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<v Speaker 1>close toward Halloween, they're starting to plan for next year

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<v Speaker 1>and they start like looking for retail spaces to take over.

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<v Speaker 1>They start negotiating with landlords. They hire a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>district managers who manage about three to four stores each,

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<v Speaker 1>and they get to go to New Jersey on a

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<v Speaker 1>big trip for a week long training seminar, and then

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<v Speaker 1>by the time August rolls around again, they're doing it

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<v Speaker 1>again in for the couple of months before Halloween.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they're a senior director, or at least at the time

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<v Speaker 2>of this writing, their senior director of real estate's god

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<v Speaker 2>named Frank Pasera. And can you imagine how hard that

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<v Speaker 2>job is to open up fifteen hundred and negotiate those

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<v Speaker 2>leases fifteen hundred temporary stores just on the real estate side,

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<v Speaker 2>like forget training all those employees. There's a pretty fun

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<v Speaker 2>article if anyone feels like reading more about Spirit Halloween

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<v Speaker 2>on slate. I think written by an employee. He was

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<v Speaker 2>one of those managers. And it wasn't like some horror

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<v Speaker 2>story like oh god, it was awful. It was more

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<v Speaker 2>just like it's a crazy experience because I'll bet everything

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<v Speaker 2>is moving so fast and there's so much inventory, and

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<v Speaker 2>none of these employees, like everyone is temporary, so it's

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<v Speaker 2>just a crazy but fun environment it seems like to

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<v Speaker 2>work in.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, man, I'll bet keeping things stocked is like sacrosanct

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<v Speaker 1>there because you got to get rid of as much

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<v Speaker 1>as possible, although they do say about thirty to forty

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<v Speaker 1>percent of it carries over from year to year. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure they lost their shirts on Justin Bieber costumes

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<v Speaker 1>one year, right, and that probably happens. But you know

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<v Speaker 1>you're always going to make the money on Michael Meyer's stuff, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure, you got a Halloween costume together for

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<v Speaker 2>this year? Are you going to do anything?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. You me usually comes up with those.

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<v Speaker 1>I just go along with them because they're always brilliant

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<v Speaker 1>and I can't think of anything. So I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>what she's got up her sleeves this year. Probably something

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<v Speaker 1>really good.

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<v Speaker 2>I gotcha nice.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's one other thing we should talk about from

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<v Speaker 1>Spirit Halloween that you dug up is they are really

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<v Speaker 1>into charity for children's hospitals, and it's pretty awesome what

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<v Speaker 1>they do.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they partnered. I mean essentially, what they're trying to

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<v Speaker 2>do is bring, you know, not the spirit of Christmas

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<v Speaker 2>to children's hospitals, but the spirit of Halloween to make

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<v Speaker 2>hospitals less scary in an ironic twist.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for sure. It's called Spirit of Children. You can

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<v Speaker 1>donate online to it, you can donate in the store.

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<v Speaker 1>You can donate as little as a dollar and they'll

0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:13.319
<v Speaker 1>say thank you. But they not just Halloween. So around Halloween,

0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:18.280
<v Speaker 1>these about one hundred and fifty children's hospitals get care

0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:21.200
<v Speaker 1>packages with costumes and decorations and all that stuff. Because

0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.400
<v Speaker 1>think about it, when you're a little kid, you're sick

0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:27.280
<v Speaker 1>in the hospital, missing Halloween. Yeah, that sucks on top

0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.720
<v Speaker 1>of having to be in the hospital in the first place. Course,

0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:33.120
<v Speaker 1>but for the rest of the year. They support programs,

0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.760
<v Speaker 1>they pay for equipment, like they cover these children's hospitals,

0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:39.000
<v Speaker 1>and it's pretty cool. It's a really great program. I

0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.280
<v Speaker 1>had no idea about it. But if you go to

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<v Speaker 1>Spirit Halloween this year, maybe drop a buck in their

0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.480
<v Speaker 1>Spirit of Children collection thing or go online and donate.

0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.440
<v Speaker 1>But the great thing about it is one hundred percent

0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.960
<v Speaker 1>of those donations go to this program.

0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:56.480
<v Speaker 2>That's right. And we've been singing the praises of this

0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.200
<v Speaker 2>fun store. I hope it's not exposed to some awful

0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.040
<v Speaker 2>thing because it seems to be what it is, which

0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:05.640
<v Speaker 2>is just a pretty successful fun store supporting a fun holiday.

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<v Speaker 1>And I hope they're not advertising on the podcast right now,

0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.280
<v Speaker 1>because if so, it's a coincidence. Everybody we weren't paid to.

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<v Speaker 2>Do getting me they totally should. We should tell sales

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<v Speaker 2>about this.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, Well, then Chuck brought this on. It's okay. I

0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.680
<v Speaker 1>don't think we have anything else about Spirit Halloween, right, Nope?

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Well then short stuff is out.

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<v Speaker 2>Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For

0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:36.200
<v Speaker 2>more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:38.160
<v Speaker 2>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,