Short Takes
Staff -- Playthings, 12/1/2001
Major NYC openings
In the span of only a few days, New York City tourists had two more reasons to shop.
Toys R Us' highly anticipated flagship store at Times Square opened its doors to the public on Nov. 17. Just a day earlier and only a few blocks away, Rockefeller Center welcomed the Pokémon Center, a two-story destination for all Pokémon-branded merchandise.
TRU's "center of the toy universe," as the company has dubbed the store, is the "personification of every kid's dreams," according to Elliott Wahle, vice president and general manager of TRU Times Square. Chairman and CEO John Eyler said the store will draw "25 million people annually." President Greg Staley estimated between five and 20 percent of the store' s 10,000-plus SKUs would be exclusives, while five percent would not be available at any other TRU location.
In contrast to TRU's Ferris wheel and Barbie dollhouse, the 13,000-sq.-foot Pokémon Center borrows heavily from the art deco elements Raymond Hood used in designing Rockefeller Center in the 1930s. "We wanted to create a visual image so (kids) feel like they're part of the cartoon," said General Manager Dave Hillenbrand.
Forty percent of inventory will be exclusive, and a giant, spherical Pokémon Distributing Machine will upload exclusive characters to Game Boy cartridges at no charge.
The store is supported by a Web site, www.pokemoncenter.com.
