Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween Retains Hanold Associates for Senior Vice President of HR Search

Spencers

Spencer’s & Spirit Halloween has retained Hanold Associates for Senior Vice President of Human Resources search. Lisa Butkus, Keri Gavin and Jason Hanold are leading the search for this New Jersey-based role.

Reporting directly to the CEO of Spencer’s & Spirit, Steven Silverstein, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources will be the overall leader of the Human Resources function across both brands. This leader will sit on the Executive Leadership Team, as well as lead five direct reports and an overall team of ~30 HR professionals. Building upon the existing function, s/he will ensure that it is one that continues to put employees first.

Spencer Spirit Holdings operates two unique retail brands, Spencer’s and Spirit Halloween.

Spencer’s started out as a mail-order company in 1947 and expanded into its current recognizable locations in malls in 1963, growing to a national chain by the mid-70s. The store caters to a young clientele between 18 and 24 years old, who are high-energy, edgy and always inspired by humor and a great guest experience. Spencer’s sells everything from t-shirts to body jewelry to gag gifts and adult toys.

Spirit Halloween was founded in 1983 in San Francisco with a store model that utilizes available retail space each year to open pop-up Halloween stores. Spirit is the world’s #1 retailer of all things Halloween, from costumes and accessories to indoor and outdoor decor. While always counting down until next Halloween, Spirit also operates an online store year-round.

Spencer’s acquired Spirit in 1999, and with new management in the early 2000s, the two companies have been growing continuously. That same management team eventually purchased ownership of the company in 2015 and are the current operators. Today, there are 680+ Spencer’s stores and 1,400+ Spirit Halloween stores across the US and Canada. As a result of the seasonality of Spirit, the company headcount grows and flexes between ~6,000 and ~30,000 at the seasonal peak. The combined company is headquartered in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and has more than $1B in revenue annually.

Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search is the leading retained boutique executive search firm focused on HR and Diversity & Inclusion Officers. Our client list is diverse across industries, geographies and business scenarios, and culture is at the core of everything we do. Our clients include the National Football League, Domino’s Pizza, Under Armour, Patagonia, Gucci, The New York Times, Tom Brady’s TB12, Kohler, REI, Live Nation Entertainment, Dick’s Sporting Goods, McDonald’s, Major League Baseball, Kellogg, Apollo, Blackstone, TPG, L Catterton, Northwestern University, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Electronic Arts, Fiat-Chrysler, SC Johnson, eBay, Moderna, Hillrom, Great Place To Work, Fossil, Vail Resorts, AbbVie, Carnival Corp., Biogen, Allstate, Bridgestone, Wikimedia, ClubCorp, Nike, Zoom, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Ford Motor Company, among others.