Happy (almost) Halloween. This is The Shake 🤝: the weekly newsletter that doesn’t spook you like a new insurance policy on a Sunbelt property…

Here’s what we got this week:

• The Spirit Strategy 🎃 

• Who Owns The Bachelor Mansion?

MARKET RADAR

The Spirit Strategy 🎃 

Other than saving you from procrastination for buying a costume, Spirit Halloween stores also save retail landlords stuck with vacant big box spaces.

Founded in 1983 by Joe Marver, Spirit Halloween’s simple yet unique business model thrives off of locating and securing top-notch spaces for a seasonal period of 6-8 weeks. With over 1,400 stores that pop up in the US and Canada every year, something must be going right.

Imagine knowing a tailwind of billions of dollars will be spent every year in a matter of a few weeks. And that you could have an asset-light business to capitalize on this cycle, year after year.

Well, in a nutshell, that’s what Spirit Halloween does. They throw on their captain hat, optimize their deckhands, and let the tide of the Halloween spirit rise their boat to success ⛵️ 

The National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics revealed that total Halloween spending in 2023 was expected to reach a record $12.2 billion, exceeding the previous year’s record of $10.6 billion.

It’s estimated that Spirit Halloween captures about 10% of total Halloween spending.

Take that for a totally addressable market…

Talking about market share, most of Spirit Halloween’s competitors like Party City are open year-round and don’t solely focus on one holiday. This leaves them with heavy debt obligations although a huge chunk of revenue comes in Q4; a big reason why bankruptcy ended up being the fate of the company.

Eventually, Party City launched its own pop-up concept, coining it Halloween City. But there’s more to it than just popping up, there’s an art behind a Halloween real estate deal.

Spirit Halloween may have seasonal staff for its in-store locations, but its real estate team is working year-round to source and secure the best locations and leases available.

The retail strategy is to find 7,000-10,000 sqft spaces with strong national co-tenants like Best Buy, Target, or Walmart.

These temporary lease deals are good for the landlords too, providing an influx of cash with little to no downside risk. Plus, the price per sqft rates are typically higher than long-term tenants.

Thanks to a mix of in-person retail experience and consumer procrastination, Spirit Halloween stores seem to be unaffected by online shopping; with over $1 billion in annual revenue expected in 2023.

Essentially, Spirit Halloween stores are masters of minimization. They show up, put together a store, and leave without a trace in early November. This seasonal operation strategy is the key to their success.

This takes us to our next segment which also operates on a seasonal basis…

Who Owns The Bachelor Mansion?

Ahh yes, another Friday. You know what that means: My girlfriend spent the night getting extremely excited to watch one man sift through his array of women who would do anything for the man they “love” to give them a rose. For those who don’t know, this season is the “Golden Bachelor” which is a really, really nice way of saying “We’re going to put this 70-year-old single guy on TV and see if he wants to truly find love, OR still thinks with his ——.”

No joke though, if you want to follow along with a hilarious recap you need to check out this comedian Jared Freid on Instagram’s Bachelor recap stories. He’s hysterical.

Of course, being a real estate guy and Airbnb Superhost (takes bow) myself, I can’t help but be curious about who owns this property. It’s the only thing on the show that I look up from my laptop to look at. This home is a pad.

Let’s dive in…

The show is filmed in Agoura Hills and Malibu, CA. The exact address is public knowledge and is located at 2351 Kanan Rd, Agoura Hills, California (yw for the Zillow link). At first glance, one thing is abundantly clear, and it’s that someone renovated this home like crazy.

Turns out that the owner is a contractor himself. Marshall Haraden and family own the famous Bachelor Mansion, and for 42 days straight twice a year, they pack their bags and vacate so that the show can be filmed. Haraden, the owner of The Marshall Group, has constructed over 300 commercial projects throughout the Southwestern United States. They construct everything from breweries, restaurants, hotels, industrial, healthcare, resorts, and other retail/entertainment types of facilities.

Just shot him an invite on LinkedIn — would love to get him on The Shake page to speak some more about his story. When I said that I thought someone renovated it like crazy, I may have only been half-right.

I found an interview with Marshall where he states;

which makes plenty of sense.

Want to rent this pad for yourself? Hope you have a cool thirty G’s lying around for a one-night stay. Here’s the Airbnb Listing. Luckily, there’s no service fee because Nick, who I am assuming is Marshall’s son, is such a generous guy he covers this for you!

Marshall mentioned that The Bachelor is filmed right when his kids start going back to school, and The Bachelorette is right before 2nd semester, so it definitely puts a strain on the family. At one point, they moved out for 6 years!

I can only imagine how much ABC rents the home for a combined 84 days out of the year. I couldn’t find that information online, but if I end up digging it out, I’ll blast it to you all.

FIN 🤝 If you enjoyed this week's edition, don’t be selfish — share with a friend!

^{DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.}