FAO’s ‘Rock’-ing out
Toy store plans big for its new Midtown flagship
FAO Schwarz cut a deal this month to open a store at Rockefeller Plaza — and now it’s cutting deals to fill the store with goodies.
The iconic toy retailer — which will stage its retail comeback next fall after shuttering its famous Fifth Avenue flagship in mid-2015 — is in talks with a slew of manufacturers to keep FAO unique.
That, for example, means hooking up with the Discovery Channel to create a floor space for learning about “STEM” — or science, technology, engineering and math, says David Conn, CEO of ThreeSixty Group, which acquired FAO from Toys ‘R’ Us in October 2016.
Elsewhere, Conn says he’s in talks with children’s brands like Melissa & Doug and Spin Master for popular kid lines like Hatchimals and PAW Patrol, which will open mini-shops inside the flagship store.
ThreeSixty Group designs and distributes consumer products to more than 70,000 retail stores and has its fingers in many other brands. It already owns Sharper Image, Smithsonian, and Animal Planet, so expect lots of big plush toys along with drones and remote-control cars.
Though the space at Rock Center will be a fraction of the size of the old, 61,000square-foot flagship in the GM Building, there will still be plenty of room for that giant piano keyboard that Tom Hanks danced on in the 1988hit “Big.”
“The brand is all about the large format,” Conn said, also signaling that giant plush toys and FAO’s iconic clock tower won’t be left out of the mix.
Meanwhile, the company has created a line of FAObranded products that are now offered at 3,000 in-store boutiques at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and other spots. Those, of course, also will be available at Rock Center.
A classic FAO Schweetz shop will also be set up to deliver sugar fixes.
The new location will reopen next fall at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, joining American Girl at 75 Rock, plus The Lego store and Nintendo nearby — thus making Rock Center the next hot spot for kids.
Founded in Baltimore by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz in 1862 as the “Toy Bazaar,” the store opened in New York in 1870.
The Fifth Avenue store had been one of the top five visited attractions in the city. Conn expects the area’s foot traffic and mass of children’s stores will aid the comeback. So why Rock, and not, say, Times Square?
“We were seduced by the location in the heart of Rockefeller Center next to the Christmas tree and ice skating rink,” Conn said.