In this edition of Very Niche!:

It’s that time of year when anyone looking for a last-minute Halloween costume knows exactly where to go…

Spirit Halloween.

You probably recognize Spirit from the countless costume memes that pop up ever year, but the brand’s GTM approach has also become a meme in its own right.

The Spirit Halloween playbook:

1. Scour metro areas for commercial spaces left empty by bankrupt or shuttered big box stores
2. Offer above-market rates to lease them for just 3 months
3. Sell nothing but Halloween costumes and decorations
4. Rake in 90% of your annual sales in just 10 weeks

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The pop-up chain is most certainly an annual community punching bag, but they’ve found a niche business that works, and scales.

Spirit (owned by Spencer’s Gifts) doesn’t report revenue, but The Hustle projected in 2021 that they bring in over $500M USD during their short yearly stints.

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Naturally, you might wonder - well, why wouldn’t they extend this into Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, any other holiday???

Well, that’s your generalist brain kicking in.

If you try to spread your wings too far, the economics of a niche strategy disappear.

For Spirit, trying to serve all holidays, they’d lose their real estate arbitrage advantage, complicate their assortment, and either splinter or explode their marketing spend.

You'd experience a similar buckling if you suddenly tried to extend your consulting practice to serve 3-4 different ICPs (ideal client profiles).

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No thanks, Spirit says.

Stick to what they do well, and they’ve got all the cash and semi-positive vibes they need to last them until next Halloween.

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💡

-Wes