FAO Schwarz












































FAO Schwarz
Industry Toy
Founded 1862; 157 years ago (1862) (as Toy Bazaar)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Founder Frederick August Otto Schwarz
Headquarters
General Motors Building
New York City, New York, U.S.
Number of locations
 1
Products Toys, Clothing, Baby Products
Parent
W. R. Grace and Company (1970–1974)
Christiana Companies
(1985–1986)
Morse Partners (1986–1990)
Vendex KBB (1990–2001)
Right Start (2001–2004)
Toys "R" Us (2009–2016)
ThreeSixty Group
(2016–present)
Website faoschwarz.com

FAO Schwarz is an American toy store.[1] The company is known for its unique high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, dolls, and games.[2]


The second flagship store in its history was located on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It was a popular tourist destination and gained iconic status for its floor piano and cameos in major motion pictures.[1] FAO Schwarz was later acquired by Toys "R" Us, which closed the Fifth Avenue flagship location in 2015. ThreeSixty Group, Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz from Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc. for an undisclosed amount in October 2016.[3] The brand formally re-launched on Fifth Avenue in 2017. The following year, a new store opened at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, near the former Fifth Avenue location.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Early history


    • 1.2 Right Start, FAO Inc. and bankruptcy


    • 1.3 D. E. Shaw & Co.


    • 1.4 Toys "R" Us, Inc.


    • 1.5 ThreeSixty Group




  • 2 Brand


    • 2.1 Logo




  • 3 New York City flagship store


    • 3.1 Feature shops


    • 3.2 FAO Schweetz and FAO Café




  • 4 In popular culture


  • 5 References


  • 6 External links





History



Early history


FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name "Toy Bazaar" by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore, where he and his brothers retailed toys from a fancy-goods store. Additional locations of "Toy Bazaar" followed in Philadelphia and Boston.


In 1870, Schwarz opened a New York City location known as the "Schwarz Toy Bazaar" at 765 Broadway, which moved to 42 E. 14th Street in Union Square in 1880 and operated at that location until April 28, 1897, when it took over two vacant store locations at 39 and 41 W. 23rd Street. By then, The New York Times described Schwarz as "the largest dealer in toys in this city."[4]


Beginning in November 1869, the Schwarz Toy Bazaar held an exhibition of toys that would be available for the Christmas season, which in 1883 was described as the "14th Annual Exhibition."[5] In 1896, Schwarz proclaimed the store as the "Original Santa Claus Headquarters" in New York.[6] The FAO Schwarz holiday catalog has been published annually since 1876.[7][8]


In 1889, Schwarz added his initials to newspaper advertisements, branding the store at that time as simply "F.A.O. Schwarz," although the "Toy Bazaar" identifier continued until the move in 1897 to W. 23rd Street.[4]


In 1931, the New York City location moved to 745 Fifth Avenue where it operated for 55 years.


In 1963, when the Schwarz family sold their last shares in the business, FAO Schwarz went through a series of owners beginning with Parents Magazine. The company was subsequently sold to W.R. Grace in 1970, and then to toy retailer Franz Carl Weber of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974.


In 1985, Christiana Companies, a San Diego, California based company, owned FAO Schwarz for just one year. In 1986, Peter Harris, with the help of Philadelphian investment banker, Peter Morse, bought the company under Morse Partners Ltd. and moved the toy store across 58th Street to the General Motors Building at 767 Fifth Avenue at 58th Street. FAO Schwarz was sold to Netherlands-based NV Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (later renamed Vendex/KBB) in 1990.


Throughout the 1990s, new FAO Schwarz stores opened throughout the United States and by 2000 the company had 40 locations.[9]



Right Start, FAO Inc. and bankruptcy


In 2001, Right Start, Inc. purchased 23 of the 42 stores from Vendex, including the famed FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue flagship store. The other 18 unsold locations were immediately closed.[10] In 2002, Right Start Inc. changed its corporate name to FAO Inc. operating stores under The Right Start, Zany Brainy and FAO Schwarz names.[11] In January 2003, FAO Inc. filed for bankruptcy,[12] yet emerged from bankruptcy in April 2003. The company filed for bankruptcy a second time in December 2003.[13] The Fifth Avenue store closed in January 2004.[14]



D. E. Shaw & Co.


In February 2004, investment firm D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., acquired the FAO Schwarz stores in New York and Las Vegas, as well as FAO Schwarz's catalog and internet business.[15] The New York and Las Vegas stores were reopened on Thanksgiving Day 2004.[16] In November 2007, FAO Schwarz acquired premium children's clothing company Best & Co., which had plans to expand,[17] but the company ceased business in 2009.



Toys "R" Us, Inc.


In May 2009, Toys "R" Us Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz.[18] In 2009, Toys "R" Us subsequently put temporary FAO Schwarz boutiques in its U.S. Toys "R" Us stores for the holidays, and in October 2010, the concept was expanded into permanent boutiques in Toys "R" Us stores. In addition, FAO Schwarz-branded infant and toddler items are available in all of its Babies "R" Us stores nationwide.[19] The company closed the Las Vegas location in January 2010[20] followed by its flagship New York store, the last remaining one, in July 2015.[21][22]



ThreeSixty Group


In October 2016, ThreeSixty Group, Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz from Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.[3]


The FAO Schwarz brand is currently the property of the descendants of the founder through the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation[23] but is exclusively operated by ThreeSixty Group. In August 2018, ThreeSixty Group announced plans to open a new FAO Schwarz store at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center, and a second store at LaGuardia Airport by November 2018.[24][25]


In October 2018, FAO Schwarz pop-up stores opened at 90 Hudson's Bay Company stores across Canada, just ahead of the Christmas holiday season, to remain open through the holidays.[26] The new location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened on November 16, 2018.[27][28]



Brand


FAO Schwarz is known for its large assortment of plush animals and the Piano Dance Mat, a smaller replica of the in-store walking piano featured in the Tom Hanks film Big.[8] FAO Schwarz also features limited-quantity luxury items including a $1,500 Jeweled Classic Etch-A-Sketch[29] and a Barbie Foosball Table by Bonzini priced at $25,000.[8]


In addition to its own line of products, FAO Schwarz carries brands including Steiff, the world's oldest and best-known German designer of stuffed animals, Melissa & Doug, a leading designer and manufacturer of educational toys, and Mamas & Papas, one of the UK's top nursery brands.





Through the years, the FAO Schwarz logo has had versions that included a teddy bear, ABC blocks, a toy soldier, rocking horse and animated clock tower.[30] In 2010, the FAO Schwarz logo was redesigned in colors of red and silver. The new logo emphasized the initials of company founder, Frederick August Otto Schwarz.[31] It also debuted a company mascot, "Wit".[30]



New York City flagship store


The FAO Schwarz flagship store was located in the General Motors Building at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street in Manhattan. It was redesigned in 2001 by architect David Rockwell of The Rockwell Group in collaboration with Paul Gregory of Focus Lighting to feature a Grand Hall entrance and award-winning lighting, including almost 80,000 LED lights mounted on the ceiling above the main atrium space. Each LED light is individually addressable and creates a dynamic light show.[32] The store included a concierge and "Personal Shoppers" to help customers find presents, in addition to a notable selection of toys, games, books and displays.[33]


The flagship store closed on July 15, 2015, leaving the brand without an outlet. Toys R Us was looking at possible locations in Midtown and Times Square.[34]


At the end of 2017, following the sale to ThreeSixty Group, FAO Schwarz announced that they would open a new store at 30 Rockefeller Center in the space formerly occupied by the NBC Experience Store.[35]



Feature shops


FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue contained many unique in-store features offering interactive experiences and customizable toys. The Muppet Whatnot Workshop debuted at FAO Schwarz in 2008 and allowed customers the ability to create their very own Muppet by choosing from a selection of bodies and facial features, hair pieces and outfits.[36] The "Style by Me Barbie," "Madame Alexander Doll Factory," and "The Middleton Doll Newborn Nursery" allowed customers to customize unique dolls by choosing hair style and color, skin tone, eye color and outfits from a large selection available in store.[37]



FAO Schweetz and FAO Café


Starting in 1996, FAO Schweetz offered hundreds of types of candy from bears, worms and fruit to classic candies like Jawbreakers and Whoppers, as well as assortments of chocolate and fudge. Visitors could customize orders at the shop.[37] In 2011, the store expanded its FAO Schweetz candy department to encompass 6,000 square feet on Level One of the FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue flagship store. The department was completely redesigned, featuring new floors, displays and treats along with oversized pieces of candy, including chocolate bars and peppermints.[1]


In October 2010, FAO Café debuted inside the store's 58th Street entrance offering a variety of foods from several Manhattan eateries including Crumbs Bake Shop, Jumbo Bagels, Doughnut Plant, Sigmund Pretzel Shop, and Peanut Butter and Co.[38]



In popular culture




The Walking Piano


The New York store was featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big, in which Hanks and Robert Loggia danced "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on the store's large floor piano.[9] Subsequently, it was also featured in the Broadway adaptation of the film, Big: The Musical, in 1996.


The store's interior was featured in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York for the fictional "Duncan's Toy Chest".[39]


In 1995, the store was featured in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite in the final scene where main characters Lenny and Linda have a chance encounter. It is also featured in Baby Boom (1987) and Big Business (1988), among others.[40]


In 2011, the store was featured in The Smurfs during an "action-packed" chase scene in which the Smurfs encounter the evil wizard Gargamel.[41] Scenes from the movie were shot over five nights in May 2011.[42]



References





  1. ^ abc "FAO Schwarz: 150 Years of Toys". Archived from the original on January 16, 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "Toys 'R' Us has big plans for luxe retailer FAO Schwarz". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.


  3. ^ ab "Toys R Us sells FAO Schwarz brand to ThreeSixty Group". usnews.com. US News & World Report. Retrieved September 19, 2017.


  4. ^ ab "To Move Up-Town," New York Times; April 28, 1897; page 3.


  5. ^ Display Ad," New York Times; November 11, 1883; page 15.


  6. ^ Display Ad," New York Times; November 26, 1896; page 3.


  7. ^ "CELEBRATING A STORIED HERITAGE AND CREATING NEW TRADITIONS TO DELIGHT CHILDREN EVERYWHERE, FAO SCHWARZ ANNOUNCES ITS EXTRAORDINARY OFFERINGS FOR HOLIDAY 2009". Archived from the original on March 13, 2013.


  8. ^ abc "BUILDING ON ITS STORIED HISTORY, FAO SCHWARZ® EMBARKS UPON THENEXT EVOLUTION OF ITS BRAND, DESIGNED TO CREATE ENCHANTING MEMORIES FOR A NEW GENERATION OF KIDS". Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.


  9. ^ ab "FAO Schwarz – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on FAO Schwarz".


  10. ^ Goldman, Abigail (November 20, 2001). "Right Start Plans to Buy FAO Schwarz". Los Angeles Times.


  11. ^ "The Right Start buys FAO Schwarz". Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2009.


  12. ^ "FAO Seeks Bankruptcy Protection". The New York Times. January 14, 2003. Retrieved May 2, 2010.


  13. ^ Hays, Constance L. (December 3, 2003). "FAO to File for Bankruptcy And Break Up Toy Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.


  14. ^
    Day, Sherri (January 27, 2004). "F.A.O. Schwarz Closes, Disappointing Visitors". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.


  15. ^ "Turnaround Firm Buys FAO for $41M".


  16. ^ "Famous toy store to reopen". USA Today. November 23, 2004.


  17. ^ "FAO Schwarz Buys Best & Co".


  18. ^ "Toys "R" Us Acquires FAO Schwarz, Fifth Avenue Store". Bloomberg. May 28, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2009.


  19. ^ "FAO Schwarz delivers new branding to its stores and web site".


  20. ^ Green, Steve. "FAO Schwarz lets Forum Shops lease expire, quietly leaves Las Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 18, 2016.


  21. ^ Quirk, Mary Beth. "FAO Schwarz Flagship Closes In NYC, Forcing All Those Giant Stuffed Animals To Find A New Home". Consumerist. Retrieved March 18, 2016.


  22. ^ Too much fun to make money?. June 6, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.


  23. ^ United States Patent and Trademark Office. "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval: Serial Number 78759620". Retrieved December 21, 2012.


  24. ^ Passy, Charles. "FAO Schwarz Is Set to Return, And It Needs People to Dance on the 'Big' Piano". WSJ. Retrieved September 7, 2018.


  25. ^ "The world's most iconic toy store is reopening after suddenly shutting down 3 years ago". Retrieved September 4, 2018.


  26. ^ Hudson's Bay to bring iconic toy brand FAO Schwarz to Canada, Toronto: HBC news release, October 9, 2018


  27. ^ Thomas, Lauren (November 16, 2018). "FAO Schwarz makes its return to New York. Here's what its new store looks like inside". CNBC. Retrieved November 17, 2018.


  28. ^ "The world's most iconic toy store is reopening after suddenly shutting down 3 years ago". Business Insider. Retrieved October 27, 2018.


  29. ^ "FAO SCHWARZ® UNWRAPS MAGICAL HOLIDAY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WITH EXTRAORDINARY PLAYTHINGS AND THE 2011 ULTIMATE HOLIDAY COLLECTION CATALOG". Archived from the original on March 13, 2013.


  30. ^ ab "FAO Schwarz Evolving, Rebranding".


  31. ^ "FAO Redesigns Brand with New Logo, Packaging".


  32. ^ "FAO Schwarz". Archived from the original on March 27, 2012.


  33. ^ "FAO Schwarz – New York City".


  34. ^ Matt Townsend; David Levitt (May 16, 2015). "FAO Schwarz store in Manhattan to close in July as rents rise". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 17, 2015.


  35. ^ "Legendary Toy Store FAO Schwarz to Get New Home in Midtown". Retrieved September 4, 2018.


  36. ^ "A Muppet Entirely Your Own". The New York Times. December 1, 2008.


  37. ^ ab "FAO Schwarz® Fifth Avenue: Feature Shops, Attractions and Services" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2011.


  38. ^ "FAO Schwarz debuts a café featuring NYC foods".


  39. ^ "F.A.O. Schwarz Toy Store on Fifth Avenue in NYC Is Closing: Details". May 16, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.


  40. ^ "New York Tours visiting FAO Schwarz: Explore New York City through its famous TV & movie locations!".


  41. ^ "FAO Schwarz Gets Smurftastic Makeover, Celebrating Appearance in Smurf Film".


  42. ^ "THE SMURFS: Production Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 29, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2012.




External links







  • FAO Schwarz Website

  • History of FAO Schwarz from inception to 2001.

  • Article on Right Start's acquisition of FAO Schwarz.

  • Article on FAO Schwarz bankruptcy filings.

  • Another article on bankruptcy filing and store closures.

  • Legendary Toy Store FAO Schwarz to Get New Home at Rockefeller Center: Reports.


Coordinates: 40°45′48″N 73°58′20″W / 40.7634°N 73.9723°W / 40.7634; -73.9723







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