How Spirit Halloween is leveraging the real estate market to drive its business growth.

The company's strategy to occupy more than 1,500 storefronts and hire around 50,000 seasonal workers across North America is no easy feat, as seen in the recent "Saturday Night Live" skit and the countless memes inspired by Spirit Halloween's ability to pop up and shut down every fall.

While we are physically present for only three months, the remaining nine months involve extensive planning, preparation, and background work, as stated by Spirit Halloween CEO Steven Silverstein.

The model has been successful for the specialty retailer, with a key component being persuading landlords to approve short-term leases.

In 1999, longtime mall retailer Spencer's acquired Spirit Halloween. By 2015, Spirit Halloween was generating about $400 million in revenue, according to Moody's Ratings. In 2023, the combined businesses, known as Spencer Spirit Holdings, brought in $1.87 billion in revenue. Moody's vice president of corporate finance Michael Tellis stated that Spirit Halloween accounts for a larger share of the company's revenue than Spencer's does.

Tellis stated that their store count has increased, but it's not a significant number. However, they have successfully driven additional traffic to their stores.

Silverstein stated that permanent retailers typically avoid signing contracts during the summer as they require more time to set up shop and do not want to miss the holiday season. This presents an opportunity for the company to capitalize on their needs.

Larry Link, president of New York real estate firm Level Group, stated that a New York City pop-up store usually pays a 20% to 30% premium to rent a space for a short-term contract. However, landlords renting to a temporary retailer have two primary concerns: lease holdovers and property damage. However, he noted that Spirit Halloween is a special case.

"By virtue of their track record, they have eliminated all the risks of a standard pop-up, which they likely use to drive an aggressive deal with landlords sitting on empty space," said Link.

The cost of leasing the ground floor of Spirit Halloween's Chelsea location in southwest Manhattan is $100 per square foot for a permanent lessee, with an additional 13,600 square foot lower level floor available. The asking price for the space is not known for the short-term contract.

In rural areas, the average monthly rental is significantly lower. CNBC examined a Spirit Halloween lease proposal in Redding, California. The space usually leases for approximately $27,000 per month, according to the listing. The proposal suggests that Spirit is offering $30,000 for a four-and-a-half-month contract in April.

"Silverstein stated that they do not focus on rent per square foot, but rather on anticipating revenue and translating it into a worthwhile rent for them."

The top five previous tenants of the company's storefronts, according to an analysis by the University of Virginia School of Data Science, were Rite Aid, Tuesday Morning, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, and CVS. Out of these retailers, only CVS has not filed for bankruptcy.

This month, the company unveiled a plan to trial 10 Christmas stores, with eight of them being located in existing Halloween stores.

Silverstein stated that the company is currently in the process of planning for the 2025 season and is also considering its business strategy for 2026.

Silverstein stated that getting the seeds in the ground will be influenced by the outcome of this year's Halloween experience.

Watch the video to learn more about the business of Spirit Halloween.

— CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this story