• Orders require a 20 percent deposit of the total purchase, including all applicable taxes, and a $10 service charge.
• Customers have 90 days to pay for their items, with 50 percent of the total due 45 days after the initial purchase date.
• Payments may be made at the store in the form of cash, check, or credit, debit or gift cards.
• Merchandise will be made available within 14 days of final payment.
• A fee will apply to canceled layaway orders. See stores for details.

Many stores typically stay open later during the holiday season. This year, as consumer spending still lags behind the economic recovery, it’s happening with increasing frequency, said Jack Hendler, president of merger-and-acquisition advising firm Net Worth Solutions Inc. in New York.

“The indication from this is that retail sales for the holiday period are not nearly as good as people wished or anticipated or planned for,” Hendler said today in a telephone interview.

• Walmart will keep most of its 803 discount stores and Sam's Club stores open until 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Bloomberg says this is two hours later than in 2008. There are also 2,746 Walmart supercenters open 24 hours a day.
• Toys R Us will keep 260 of its 586 stores open until 1 a.m. December 19th through December 23rd. This is an hour later than in 2008.
• Most Target locations will stay open until midnight, which is an hour later than in 2008.

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"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.

The probe is a signal that federal enforcers are taking a more aggressive role in one of the most contentious issues in retailing: whether manufacturers and retailers can agree to set a minimum retail prices on products. FTC investigators are expected to review numerous emails exchanged among Babies R Us and various manufacturers.

One set of email exchanges filed in a class-action case appears to show Babies R Us urging the Britax Childcare unit of Carlyle Group LLC to get Target Corp. to raise prices. The subject field in the email exchanges said: "Target has not raised prices." "Did Target commit to you when they will raise their prices?" Cesar Garcia, director of merchandising at Babies R Us, allegedly asked in an email dated Jan. 6, 2006.

According to the emails, a couple of hours later, Scott Doerstling, a Britax representative at the time, allegedly responded: "Target said they would honor the new MSRP's [Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price] ... please be assured that Britax's goal is to have uniform MSRP's in the market place." Five days later, according to court records, Mr. Doerstling allegedly sent another email to Mr. Garcia reassuring him that "We are in communications with them [Target]. We understand your position and are doing what we 'legally' can do to ensure MSRP harmony in the marketplace."

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• ChixOs Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft from Spin Master
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• Disney Netpal from ASUS
• Disney-Pixar Toy Story Interactive Buddies Talking Action Figures (Buzz and Woody) from Thinkway
• Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll from Mattel
• Fast Lane JLX Over Drive Radio Control All Terrain Vehicle from Toys "R" Us
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"This acquisition is another example of how we are playing to win by aggressively pursuing opportunities to advance our specialist position in the toy and baby products industries," says Toys 'R' Us. "The family of brands is well-positioned to be a strong competitor and capture more toy-buying dollars in the months and years ahead."

From Friday, August 28 through Sunday, September 20, Babies"R"Us and Toys"R"Us stores nationwide are holding the "Great Trade-In" event, providing our customers the opportunity to trade-in any used cribs, car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems, playards or high chairs in exchange for a 20% savings on the purchase of any new baby item, in any of these product categories, from select manufacturers.

The "Great Trade-In" event places an emphasis on specific baby products, such as cribs and car seats that, due to safety concerns, may not be the best candidates to be handed down or resold. Beyond recalls, certain older and used baby items can be potentially unsafe for a variety of reasons, including damage or lack of compliance with recent advances in product safety standards.

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.