FAO off and running

From one look inside the revamped FAO Schwarz on New York City's Fifth Avenue you know this was no by-the-seat-of-the pants store redesign. You won't believe this until you see it. FAO Schwarz opened on Thanksgiving and showed off its redesigned flagship. From all accounts the redesign hit the mark and holiday business has been beyond expectations.

Gone is the tower clock. Also eliminated are areas of what seemed to be clutter and Darkness. The new FAO is a brilliantly lighted, open-air shopping experience. Windows, high and wide, let sunshine swaddle shoppers and invite passersby to drop in. It also allows for plenty of room for buying patrons to do what they do best—buy. Also, there is a “rec room,” ice cream parlor and an interactive ride, just to name a few of the whistles.

Product merchandising is flawless. For example, the doll selection is displayed in white cases with light streaming from above and below. Much is the same with other displays. What used to be an overstuffed toy cave is now a fiesta for the eyes. Even if you aren't buying, you will enjoy watching.

But the core idea behind the new FAO is unique product. While many have panned the re-launch as being too upscale—a $50,000 scaled-down Ferrari—most of the product is in the buying range of mom and pop. Yes, you may not be able to afford, or fit in your home, that $10,000 plush elephant, but you will be enamored with that Collector Barbie offering. That's what it's all about at FAO—stuff you aren't going to find anywhere else.

“I believe people will come here and find things they won't find at home,” says David Niggli, COO of FAO Schwarz. Following Black Friday, Niggli told Playthings, “We had lines around the corner all weekend.”

Groovy Girls for $10. Try to beat that. Many products fall within the average Joe range. And before Joe is done making that purchase, he is going to have a ball exploring the store. How about an ice cream cone—which Playthings was forced to sample and approved of—or a 26-ounce “chocolate volcano” filled with ice cream?

“We want to make this a memorable experience,” says Niggli. “You come, you have ice cream with your father or grandfather.”

FAO has added more specialties to the specialty items it offers. For only $20 children can create their own Hot Wheels cars and even get a certificate of authenticity. Steiff plush has an AKC section where not only can customers get an AKC-certified plush dog for around $45, complete with papers, but can also go online and breed plush puppies, pick from the litter and get them in the mail in three to four weeks.

There are also several places for photos and a green screen where FAO staffers can shrink children to the size of a doll and sit on their favorite toy's lap. There are magic shows, jugglers and a game room on the lower level for tweens and teens, where they will find skateboards, bikes and one of the two Vespa dealerships in New York. Also, starting at $10,000, kids can have a slumber party in the special party room. FAO is not just a specialty store; it's a fresh specialty experience.

But the cornerstone of this retail store is fun, unique toys that are not available at every toy store, particularly at the mass retailers.

“People said to us, 'Is there going to be enough product [to fill the store]?'” says Niggli. “Are there enough unique products out there? There are. That is a tribute to the toy industry…while I say we aren't going to carry what you find in mass [market], there is a place for everything. Nothing against the mass market, but we want to offer something truly unique to the shopper.”

Investment bank D.E. Shaw bought the Fifth Avenue store and FAO in Las Vegas for $41 million after parent company FAO Inc. last December filed for bankruptcy protection.