 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Toys |
| Founded | 1862; 164 years ago (1862) (as Toy Bazaar) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Founder | Frederick August Otto Schwarz |
| Headquarters | Rockefeller Center,New York City,New York, U.S.40°45′48″N73°58′20″W / 40.7634°N 73.9723°W /40.7634; -73.9723 |
Number of locations | 6 |
| Products |
|
| Owner |
|
| Parent |
|
| Website | www.faoschwarz.com |
FAO Schwarz is an American toybrand andretail chain.[1] The company features high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals,interactive experiences,brand integrations, and games.[2]
FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy retailer in the United States, founded by its namesake,Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in 1862 inBaltimore before moving to New York City, where it has had several locations since 1870. Thedance-on piano, made famous by the 1988Tom Hanks filmBig, brought international attention to the brand.
The company filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003 before temporarily shuttering theFifth Avenue location in January 2004.[3] In May 2009,Toys "R" Us acquired FAO Schwarz. In 2015, it permanently closed the Fifth Avenue location. ThreeSixty Group later acquired the brand, and opened a new FAO Schwarz location at 30Rockefeller Plaza in November 2018.[4] In 2019, ThreeSixty opened locations inChicago,Beijing,London, andDublin.[5]
The "FAO Schwarz" brand name and trademarks are owned by the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation and exclusively licensed to the ThreeSixty Group, which owns and operates the retail locations.
The FAO Schwarz global flagship is at 30Rockefeller Plaza inMidtown Manhattan.[6] Its Chicago location is insideMidway International Airport.[7]The London store is inSelfridges.[8] Its Beijing store is in China World Shopping Mall inChaoyang District,[9] operating in collaboration with Kidsland, China’s largest toy distributor. Comprising 30,000 sq ft on two floors, the Beijing store features aclock tower on the facade, a rocket ship, a custom racecar crafting station, and a replica of the giant piano from the movieBig.[10]The FAO Schwarz flagship store in Dublin is inArnotts department store onHenry Street.
FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 in Baltimore under the name "Toy Bazaar" by German immigrantFrederick August Otto Schwarz.
In 1870, Schwarz opened aNew 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. That year,The New York Times declared Schwarz as "the largest dealer in toys in this city."[11]
Beginning in November 1869, the Schwarz Toy Bazaar held an exhibition of toys that would be available for the Christmas season.[12] In 1896, Schwarz proclaimed the store as the "Original Santa Claus Headquarters" in New York.[13] The FAO Schwarz holiday catalog has been published annually since 1876.[14][15]
In 1931, the New York City location moved to745 Fifth Avenue, where it operated for 55 years. In 1963,Parent's Magazine Enterprises purchased FAO Schwarz.[16] The terms of the deal read that it would license the name FAO Schwarz and continue using it for a maximum of five years before dropping the name, while still paying the Schwarz family a royalty on sales. However, the lease was renewed as the owners felt the name was too significant to lose. Part of the price of keeping the name was to keep the royalty agreement, and the Schwarz family set up a foundation to fund opportunities for young people to work in nonprofit with the income the royalties were making. Nine percent of the company remained in the hands of the Schwarz family. The company subsequently sold to W.R. Grace in 1970, and then to toy retailer Franz Carl Weber of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1974.[17]
In 1985, Christiana Companies, a company based in San Diego, California, owned FAO Schwarz for one year.[18] In 1986,Peter Harris, with the help of Philadelphia investment banker Peter Morse, bought the company under Morse Partners Ltd. and moved the toy store across 58th Street to theGeneral Motors Building at 767 Fifth Avenue at 58th Street.[19][20] FAO Schwarz was sold to Netherlands-based NV Koninklijke Bijenkorf Beheer (later renamed Royal Vendex/KBB NV) in 1990.[21] Throughout the 1990s, new FAO Schwarz stores opened across the United States; by 2000, the company had 40 locations.
In 2001, the Calabasas-based toy retailerRight Start, Inc. purchased 23 of the 40 stores, including the Fifth Avenue flagship store, from Royal Vendex for somewhere between $50 million and $60 million.[22]
In 2002, Right Start Inc. changed its corporate name to FAO Inc. operating stores under The Right Start,Zany Brainy and FAO Schwarz names.[23] On December 17, the company projected they would file for bankruptcy if its bank did not relax borrowing restrictions. On January 13, 2003, FAO Inc. filed forbankruptcy,[24] but emerged from it three months later in April. The company filed for bankruptcy a second time in December 2003.[25] All 13 remaining FAO Schwarz locations closed in January 2004 as a result of the bankruptcy, with the flagship Fifth Avenue store expected to reopen in July of that year but the others closing for good.[26] The Fifth Avenue store reopened several months later than planned on Thanksgiving Day 2004, redesigned and renovated to accommodate a growing number of tourists,[27] and the Las Vegas location atThe Forum Shops at Caesars ultimately remained open until 2010.[28]
In February 2004, investment firmD. 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.[29] TheNew York andLas Vegas stores reopened onThanksgiving Day 2004.[30] In November 2007, FAO Schwarz acquired premium children's clothing company Best & Co., which had plans to expand,[31] but the company ceased business in 2009.
In May 2009,Toys "R" Us Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz.[32] 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.[33] The company closed the Las Vegas location in January 2010, followed by its previous flagship New York store.[28]
In October 2016, ThreeSixty Group, Inc. acquired FAO Schwarz from Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc.[34]
The FAO Schwarz brand is currently the property of the descendants of the founder through the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation[35] but is exclusively operated by ThreeSixty Group. In August 2018, ThreeSixty Group announced plans to open two new FAO Schwarz stores in New York. The one at30 Rockefeller Plaza inRockefeller Center opened on November 16, 2018. The store features live toy demonstrations and carries many toys that are hard to find in the United States such asBRIO.[36][37] Public transit access is available at47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station.[38][39] The second opened atLaGuardia Airport in December 2018.[40][38][41]
In October 2018, FAO Schwarzpop-up stores opened at 90Hudson's Bay Company stores across Canada, just ahead of the Christmas holiday season, to remain open through the holidays.[42]
In March 2019, a store opened atMidway International Airport inChicago.[38]
Also in 2019, an F.A.O. Schwartz shop opened inArnotts department store in Ireland, replacing its original toy shop.
In November 2021, a store opened inMilan.[43]
In spring 2024, a new location opened in Paris atGaleries Lafayette Haussmann department store.[44]
FAO Schwarz is known for its large assortment of plush animals and the Piano Dance Mat, a smaller replica ofThe Walking Piano featured in the Tom Hanks filmBig.[15] FAO Schwarz also features limited-quantity luxury items including a drivable, child-size automobile encrusted with over 40,000 crystals and valued at US$25,000.
In addition to its own line of products, FAO Schwarz carries brands includingSteiff, the world's oldest (founded 1880)[citation needed] German designer of stuffed animals;Melissa & Doug, a leading designer and manufacturer of educational toys; andBuild-A-Bear Workshop, a make-your-own experience featuring a selection of exclusive FAO Schwarz stuffed animals and accessories, among other in-store retail partners.
WhenKinectimals: Now with Bears! was released, the brand also released an exclusive teddy bear plush with a scan tag.
Through the years, the FAO Schwarz logo has had versions that included ateddy bear,toy blocks, atoy soldier,rocking horse and an animatedclock tower.[45] 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.[46] It also debuted a company mascot, Wit.[45] In 2017, FAO Schwarz hired design studio, Mattson Creative, to rebrand the FAO Schwarz logo and packaging. Mattson Creative also created the store's reopening tagline andhashtag, "Return to Wonder".
.jpg)
In the 1972 short story "The Lesson", the store is cast as an instance of immense wealth disparity betweenclasses to a group of poor children.
The New York store is featured in the 1988Tom Hanks filmBig, in which Hanks andRobert Loggia dance "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on the store's largedance-on piano.[47]
The store's interior was the inspiration for the fictional "Duncan's Toy Chest" featured in the 1992 filmHome Alone 2: Lost in New York.[48]The store is featured in Woody Allen's 1995 filmMighty Aphrodite in the final scene where main characters Lenny and Linda have a chance encounter. It is also featured inBaby Boom (1987) andBig Business (1988), among others.[49]
In the 1999 remake of the musical filmAnnie, during the song "NYC", the characters Oliver Warbucks, Grace, and Annie join a crowd of people all admiring an impressive Christmas-themed window display containing a sign that reads "F.A.O. Schwarz".
In the 2010 filmToy Story 3, when Buzz Lightyear is captured, Lots-o-Huggin' Bear unties him and indirectly references FAO Schwarz in a euphemism: "Oh F-A-O my Schwarz".
The store is featured in the 2011 filmThe Smurfs during a chase scene.[50] Scenes from the movie were shot over five nights in May 2011.[51]
In the 2019 episode ofThe Simpsons, "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion", a healing crystal shop is named "FAO Quartz".
In the 2021 seriesHawkeye, the climax of the battle betweenKate Bishop andWilson Fisk occurs in the 30 Rockefeller Plaza location. The actual name of the shop is obscured. One shot features Bishop standing on the dance-on piano.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
