Three years after it closed its beloved toy store on Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz is making a return to New York.
A new FAO opens Friday in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, about 10 blocks from its former home near Central Park.
For more than 150 years, FAO Schwarz was known in New York City for its classy and sometimes extravagantly expensive toys. The fantasyland store it opened on Fifth Avenue in 1986 was a tourist attraction, replete with its own theme song, doormen who looked like palace guards and a musical clock tower. Financial problems at the parent company and rising rents closed that store in 2015, but FAO is now pulling back from the worst financial precipice since it was founded in 1862.
In recent weeks at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, workers drilled, hammered and sawed 24 hours a day to get the new store ready. Employees filled shelves with hundreds of plush animals that have long defined the brand - bears, bunnies, elephants, chicks and more. The big entrance clock tower has returned. And on the second level of the 20,000-square-foot space is a giant piano keyboard mat like the one on which Tom Hanks danced to 'Heart and Soul' in the 1988 film 'Big.'
A new FAO opens Friday in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, about 10 blocks from its former home near Central Park
Financial problems at the parent company and rising rents closed that store in 2015, but FAO is now pulling back from the worst financial precipice since it was founded in 1862
The 20-foot-long instrument with 60 keys is reflected on the ceiling for people in the plaza below to see. Replicas for sale cost $128.
There is also a toy grocery store where children can shop among artificial produce, complete with small carts, a checkout counter and kitchen supplies. For $75, another interactive station allows kids to adopt baby dolls, while a 'nurse' gives lessons on how to care for them. Live magic shows will be staged nearby, next to a spot for assembling custom remote-control cars. A 27-foot-tall rocket ship teems with stuffed bear astronauts.
'We are about experiences. That's what's different from other toy stores,' said David Niggli, FAO's chief merchandising officer.
'We are about experiences. That's what's different from other toy stores,' said David Niggli, FAO's chief merchandising officer
He added: ' It's the classics plus the 'Oh, wow' things you've never seen before.' A long line builds outside the new store
There is a new toy grocery store where children can shop among artificial produce, complete with small carts, a checkout counter and kitchen supplies
In a global marketing push, pop-up FAO shops are also opening for the holidays in England, Spain and Australia. A March rollout is planned for a permanent store at a mall in Beijing in addition to smaller retail locations in airports and elsewhere across the U.S. and Canada.
FAO Schwarz has gone through multiple corporate takeovers in recent years as retailers struggled to adapt to online sales. It was purchased in 2002 by Right Start Inc., which filed for bankruptcy twice. Toys 'R'' Us was the next owner. It sold the FAO name to the California-based ThreeSixty Brands in 2016 before recently declaring bankruptcy itself.
FAO was founded in 1862 by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, specializing in high-end toys, some imported from Europe. By the 20th century, in stores across the country, fancy items included a $1,500 jeweled Etch-A-Sketch and a Barbie-themed, hot pink foosball table for $25,000.
A 27-foot-tall rocket ship teems with stuffed bear astronauts and there are even employees ready to blast
Brand representatives dressed in nutcracker costumes to celebrate the arrival of the store
Two girls enjoy cuddling with a giant stuffed teddy bear. The most luxurious item on sale could be a child-size, drivable Mercedes Benz encrusted with 44,000 Swarovski crystals. Base price: $25,000
There are a few extravagant items to be had in the new store but plenty of modestly priced items, too.
'We have beautiful artisan pieces here, like rocking horses, but we also have items that are $10,' Niggli said. 'There's always going to be some of those over-the-top items. I think that's part of what you come to FAO to see. It's part of the magic.'
The most luxurious item on sale could be a child-size, drivable Mercedes Benz encrusted with 44,000 Swarovski crystals. Base price: $25,000.
'That's the core of FAO. It's the classics plus the 'Oh, wow' things you've never seen before,'Niggli said.
So much of the store is interactive as seen by these two kids playing with plush creatures and toy blenders
'We have beautiful artisan pieces here, like rocking horses, but we also have items that are $10,' Niggli said. 'There's always going to be some of those over-the-top items. I think that's part of what you come to FAO to see. It's part of the magic'
A plethora of Barbie dolls allow for anyone the opportunity to purchase a doll in their likeness
Lollypops and other candies are fully stocked in the windows of the store
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/17/beloved-toy-store-fao-schwarz-makes-its-20000sq-ft-comeback-at-the-rockefeller-center/
Main photo article Three years after it closed its beloved toy store on Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz is making a return to New York.
A new FAO opens Friday in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center, about 10 blocks from its former home near Central Park.
For more than 150 years, FAO Schwarz was known in New York City...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/17/04/6303028-6396625-image-a-5_1542428480460.jpg
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