The cobwebs are cleared from an empty Coquitlam grocery store this summer for the return of Spirit Halloween.
The seasonal retailer is back at the former Your Independent Grocer at 455 North Rd. in Cariboo Centre, one of a dozen SpirIt Halloween pop-up shops in the province opening before the fall fun:
- Abbotsford
- Chilliwack
- Coquitlam
- Kamloops
- Kelowna
- Langley
- Nanaimo
- Richmond
- Surrey
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- West Vancouver
This year, the New Jersey-based company is opening 1,525 outlets in Canada and the U.S. to sell officially licensed costumes inspired by movies, TV shows, video games and animé characters, as well as makeup, animatronics and décor.
Among the 2024 costumes are characters from the shows:
- Inside Out 2
- Bluey
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
- Fortnite
- Despicable Me 4
- Beetlejuice
- The Wizard of Oz
- South Park
Started in 1983 in California, Spirit Halloween was sold to Spencer Gifts in 1999 and has its flagship store in New Jersey.
The business typically sets up in vacant real estate for about three months each year in strip malls, temporarily breathing new life into empty commercial spaces with short-term leases.
According to the U.S. National Retail Federation, consumer spending for Halloween hit $12.2 billion last year in America.
