Toys R Us will open FAO Schwartz mini-boutiques inside a number of Toys R Us stores in preparation for the holiday shopping season.
The boutiques will last until early 2010, then be taken out. Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz back in May and has taken over the main locations. But the FAO Schwartz name recognition is so high that the company decided to do the boutique idea and reopen the FAP Schwarz website.
"We're excited to bring FAO Schwarz to the millions of Americans who in the past couldn't make their way to New York City," Storch said. "We'll continue to feature FAO merchandise that's very different and distinguishes Toys R Us from other toy sellers."
The FAO Schwarz Web site features interactive pages that include a version of the Muppet Whatnot Workshop in the FAO Schwarz store in New York, the company said.
Storch declined to predict the FAO Schwarz boutiques' sales for the holiday shopping season. FAO Schwarz struck a similar store-within-a-store deal with Macy’s Inc. in May 2008. Those shops will close by November, the department-store chain said.
Toys R Us is the country's largest toy company. It gobbled up BabyUniverse.com, eToys.com, and KBToys.com over the years. The new boutiques are meant to strike a blow at its arch-rival for toy dollars, Wal-Mart. It's a smart move. FAO Schwarz has a name that conjures up magical images of fantastic toys. Toys R Us, eh, not so much. Now people will go to Toys R Us looking for a bargain, and then be sucked in by the exciting FAO Schwarz display.
Luxury children's clothing retailer Best & Co. has closed after filing chapter 7 last month. Best & Co. was acquired by FAO Schwarz in 2007 and FAO Schwarz has since been acquired by Toys 'R' Us. The Best & Co website now contains a farewell message.
It is with deepest regrets that Best & Co has made the difficult decision to cease operations.
We would like to thank all of our loyal customers who have purchased our products and the partners who have worked with us over the years.
Playthingssays Best & Co had two stores in the Northeast and a boutique inside the Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.
FAO Schwarz salutes its new owners Toys R' Us. Toys 'R' Us has acquired its rival toy retailer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bloomberg reports that Toys R' Us plans to continue operating FAO Schwarz's two big retail stores in New York and Las Vegas under the same name. The FAO Schwarz website and catalog businesses will also retail the same name.
Chris Byrne, a toy analyst at TimetoPlayMag.com, told Bloomberg that financially it's a brillaint move to combine the two toy companies.
The deal combines two closely held retailers that have faced increased competition from the Internet and discount chains during the recession. U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.6 billion in 2008, a 3 percent drop from 2007, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. Mass merchant, discount and online retailers saw the most modest declines, NPD said, as consumers looked for ways to buy non-necessities at the lowest cost.
"Financially, I think it's brilliant," Chris Byrne, a New York-based toy-industry analyst and director of content at TimetoPlayMag.com, said today in a telephone interview. "You get all of the cachet and the look of a specialty store and a destination with the operational efficiencies of a giant like Toys "R" Us."
At Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, entertainment, electronics and toys accounted for 14 percent of sales in the year that ended Jan. 31.
A Bizjournals.com article says the deal means there will be no more FAO Schwarz stores inside Macy's locations.
Fozzie the Bear and Bobby Flay Make a Muppet Whatnot
We mentioned the Muppet Whatnot Workshop from FAO Schwarz in a previous post. The Muppet Whanot Workshop lets you build your own Whatnot muppet. Whatnot muppets are the extras of the Muppet universe. The CBS Saturday Early Show made a Whatnot with help from Fozzie The Bear and Bobby Flay. Fozzie teaches Erica Hill how to make a Whatnot muppet. They also make a muppet that resembles Chef Bobby Flay. Take a look:
The Dance-On Piano at FAO Schwarz was made famous by the 1988 movie Big starring Tom Hanks. The pianos are located at FAO Schwarz flagship stores in New York and Las Vegas where they attract thousands of visitors each year. You can also buy the piano from FAO Schwarz. It costs $250,000. The details are available here.
The CBS Saturday Early Show anchors Chris Wragge and Erica Hill recently visited FAO Schwarz where professional pianists demonstrated the large floor piano. Erica Hill even tried out the piano. Take a look:
FAO Schwarz has launched the Muppet Whatnot Workshop. The Workshop lets you build your own custom Whatnot. The FAO Schwarz website says Whanots are those zany-looking extras you see in every Muppet production. There's also a video here about what a Whatnot is.
It takes three to four weeks to receive your Whatnot after you create and order it online. You can also give the gift of a Muppet Whatnot Kit. The Kit includes everything a person needs to design a Whatnot muppet as well as a gift certificate that pays for one Whatnot. The price is $90 to build your own Whatnot online and $130 for the Muppet Whatnot Kit. The Whatnot Kit would make a cute Christmas gift.
FAO Schwarz to Place Toy Stores Inside Macy's Stores
Macy's, Inc. and FAO Schwarz recently announced an agreement that will see FAO Schwarz opening FAO-operated toy stores in up to 275 Macy's stores in fall 2008. FAO Schwarz stores are planned to expand into a total of approximately 685 Macy's stores over the next two years. The FAO Schwarz store-within-a-store concept was tested in fall 2007 at Macy's on State Street in Chicago.
Under the agreement, FAO Schwarz has named Macy's the exclusive U.S. retail store host of FAO Schwarz departments, and FAO Schwarz will be the exclusive toy department in Macy's stores. FAO Schwarz will continues to independently own and operate its own stores including the Fifth Avenue Flagship store in the heart of New York City and its website, FAO.com.
The press release from the two companies says 75 of the FAO Schwarz inside Macy's locations will be as large as 1,000 and 3,500 square feet. Another approximately 200 Macy's stores will host smaller FAO Schwarz departments of between 200 and 300 square feet. FAO Schwarz products will also be sold on the macys.com website.
It sounds like a smart move by both retailers. Obviously, they will want to move quickly to open as many FAO-inside-Macy's stores as possible before the holiday toy rush hits.
Luxury children's clothing retailer Best & Co. has 
Macy's, Inc. and FAO Schwarz recently announced an agreement that will see FAO Schwarz opening FAO-operated toy stores in up to 275 Macy's stores in fall 2008. FAO Schwarz stores are planned to expand into a total of approximately 685 Macy's stores over the next two years. The FAO Schwarz store-within-a-store concept was tested in fall 2007 at Macy's on State Street in Chicago.
