Customers who want more access to iconic upscale toy merchant FAO Schwarz just got their wish: Starting Nov. 1, FAO Schwarz-branded boutiques will be introduced in 585 Toys ’R’ Us stores nationwide.
The FAO boutiques will be located prominently at the front of Toys ’R ’ Us stores and feature colorful overhead signage, along with life-sized displays of the famous FAO Schwarz toy soldier. In addition to its signature store on New York’s Fifth Ave. FAO Schwarz has a retail presence at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
“We’re excited to make the legendary FAO Schwarz brand more accessible to customers from coast to coast,” says Toys ’R ’ Us spokesperson Linda DeNotaris. The toy and baby products retailer acquired FAO Schwarz in May.
DeNotaris says the FAO Schwarz boutiques are up to 48 feet in length. “We always have rotating feature shops in our stores, and the FAO Schwarz boutiques are just like any other showcased product assortment.”
The FAO boutiques will help reinforce Toys ’R’ Us’ authority position in the toy industry, she adds, “and offering even more differentiated merchandise in our Toys ’R’ Us stores sets us apart from our competitors.”
FAO Schwarz is also relaunching its holiday catalog and its e-commerce site, FAO.com. The new site will offer a unique shopping experience, DeNotaris says.
For example, online shoppers can access a virtual version of the famous Muppet Whatnot Workshop offered in the FAO Schwarz flagship store. “This allows customers to choose from a series of bodies, hairstyles, eyes, noses and costumes to customize their own Muppet Whatnot puppet,” she says.
The revamped site also sells some of FAO Schwarz’s most in-demand products, which are not available on Toysrus.com and eToys.com. Toys ’R’ Us acquired eToys.com this past February.
The FAO Schwarz holiday catalog, scheduled to drop Nov. 10, offers 40 pages of high-end items, such as the Steiff Karl Lagerfeld Teddy Bear. Modeled after the world-famous fashion designer, the stuffed bear is clad in premium denim jeans, Italian wool jacket and black silk tie, and sells for $1,499.99.