By George Anderson
When most people think of seasonal retail in Orlando, Fla., they have visions of shoppers visiting stores during the prime tourist season.
For those who live in and around the land that Disney built, however, seasonal retail refers to the increasing number of businesses that pop up for a short period, either in mall or vacant store locations, and then close down after a given selling season, such as Halloween or Christmas, has passed.
A case in point is the Halloween Express superstore operated by franchisee Evelyn Fisher who, according to the Orlando Sentinel, took time off from her Osceola public school job to open a store in an empty retail building in Casselberry.
Ms. Fisher has just opened her second temporary store location and she is looking for big things this year as she said customers are looking for any excuse to take a break from reality.
Cynthia Cohen, president of Strategic Mindshare, said Halloween is near the top for retail holiday sales periods so stores such as Ms. Fisher's make a lot of sense. Ms. Cohen said stores such as Halloween Express do well with low rent overhead and low costs for inventory because the goods sold in the store are produced cheaply overseas. Add in strong demand during holiday selling seasons, and the return is high for owners.
Moderator's Comment: Will temporary seasonal stores (aka pop up stores) become more ubiquitous? Are they a threat to stores that are in business year round? What do these types of ventures offer retailers that operate permanent store locations?
Target, Apple and others have used pop up stores to great benefit and exposure for their retail banner/brand. - George Anderson - Moderator