Business Buzz
By Rich Baehrle
We are fortunate to have a wonderful corporate neighbor like Spencer’s.
This great company was first called Spencer Gifts when it started as a mail order novelty business in 1947 in Easton, Pa. It moved to Atlantic City in 1960 where they experienced tremendous growth.
Their first retail store opened in 1963 at the Cherry Hill Mall. The theme was to offer unique novelty items exclusive to their store. The company headquarters is located at 6826 Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township.
Similar to many businesses, their model has changed, along with the ownership of the company. In 1990, Spencer Gifts closed the mail order part, in an effort to focus on retail. It has been known as Spencer’s since 2003.
Today they are proud to say they have over 670 retail stores located throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. However, recently it was announced that the company will be closing about 40 stores that are underperforming.
You have to give a lot of credit to the company which has been able to survive and remain profitable in this challenging retail environment.
As part of an ongoing effort to reinvent themselves, the company acquired Spirit Halloween in 1999. This resulted in a unique “pop-up” retail concept which has grown to over 1,100 stores. It’s a win-win situation for the retail center owner and Spirit, whereby Spirit opens only for the season of Halloween and closes for the season shortly thereafter until the next season.
If the owner of the space finds a permanent retailer, then the Spirit moves on, but the owner loves it because it fills the space and creates a tremendous amount of traffic to the site. Spirit is said to produce half of Spencer’s revenue.
In an age of retailers closing, it is refreshing to see innovative concepts reinventing the retail space. The company is now testing a new concept of 10 pop-up locations in the Northeast including Consumers Square in Mays Landing. All of the stores are being transformed from Halloween locations to Spirit Christmas.
Deck the Halls with Spirit Christmas, the newest holiday retailer with 10 exciting pop-up stores, will be starting this November and December. Each store offers a unique shopping experience brimming with a vast assortment of holiday décor, apparel, inflatables, gifts and stocking stuffers. Guests can meet Santa for their annual Christmas card photo and receive a free digital postcard featuring you and Santa.
Sometimes in these challenging times, it’s tough to find Santa in the malls. At Spirit Christmas you can wander through a 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. Simply put, bring yourself and your family to enjoy this joyful holiday experience. For a list of the new stores near you visit www.SpiritChristmas.com.
Spencer’s seems to be a model for all of us in the business world. You have to constantly review your methods of operation and determine what is working and what is not. Don’t be afraid of change. You have got to grow or you go.
Spencer’s is nearing completion of its new corporate addition, which will raise the capacity of its Egg Harbor Township headquarters to approximately 700 people in addition to their nearly 10,000 nationwide employees.
Thank you, Spencer’s, for being a great corporate neighbor.
Rich Baehrle, of Berkshire Hathaway Fox and Roach, can be reached at 609-266-6680 or 609-641-0011. Email richardbaehrle@gmail.com or see
www.getrichinrealestateSJ.com
