FAO Schwarz to close Iconic Fifth Ave Location

9 Responses to FAO Schwarz to close Iconic Fifth Ave Location

1. erwin says:

   May 16, 2015 at 10:16 AM

   This is very, very sad. This was one of the last out of normal toy stores left in US. When I worked in NYC from 2000 till 2004 just to pass often by and go inside just to admire the different lay out and incredible still small corner museum type with old toys, in 2002 a remco Viking ship and Marx white house playset were in glass shelf as to show history of old museum ,the exhibition last for few months, then taken down. Also I was told the huge animal plush that I love to observe were already gone out of store; wonder if this was part of the already closing or was part of cause on top of high cost ,internet anti brick store problem and so on.
   I notice that Manhattan TRU has way more attraction because of the animatronic huge dinosaur inside and star wheel where kids could right plus location (time square).Still FAO location in front of south east corner of central park and Manhattan zoo was a great too. I bet the area will plunge down more as is the sport for all horse carriage trip parking.

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2. erwin says:

   May 16, 2015 at 10:33 AM

   After reading the artickle,thanks to adm.I saw that TRU boght it in 2009.That is first symptom of disaster. Every time one other big company buy other either falling or not it end in disaster.(history repeat).Either by envy or by stupidity .they let the brand down making mock of the pride it had.
   Two ($3,500 per square foot for prime spaces.)!!!!!!That is insane, how in hell you can charge so ridicule price for SF in the planet. Are the SF electronic gold with magic that bring you to the sky!!??
   In my opinion prices should be monitor and regulated to some limit to avoid these insane situation that are just made up for the sake of rob and bribe.
   But is just my opinion and all I can say. For me TRU is a big piece of junk,I barely consider it a toy store or even an store. So I guess I wont travel too much to any more (real toy store) unless need to.

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   • George Albany says:

     May 16, 2015 at 11:40 AM

     I agree that the loss of places like FAO Schwarz is due in large part to peoples’ short-sightedness when looking for the cheapest prices, whether it be discount chains or the internet. One of my interests outside of toy soldiers is guns/hunting/shooting. Many years ago, a friend of mine and I stopped into a local gun shop to look around. While there, I picked up a couple boxes of shotgun shells and paid seven bucks a box for them. My friend admonished me saying that I could have bought the same shells for $5 a box at Kmart. My response was, sure, but if my shotgun breaks, Kmart can’t fix it, this guy can, so I want to patronize him. Sadly, the shop closed, as did four or five other gun shops in the area. So, while the internet is a boon to us for finding rare and unusual items, it also deprives us of important sources of service and expertise. Look at what the home center chains have done to hardware stores. In the communities adjoining mine, at one time there were seven or eight traditional hardware stores and several specialty (plumbing and electric supply) stores. Now there are three hardware stores and no specialty supply houses. There are three big box home centers, but try walking into one with a fitting for an old door lock or obscure plumbing fixture and find some one who knows what you have. let alone a replacement part. Impossible. And, to close the circle with toys and toy soldiers, there were at least five hobby shops in the communities adjoining mine when I was growing up. Models, electric trains, toy soldiers (not just header card bags, the good stuff, Timpo, Britains, etc.). Now? Just one, it is a great one for toys, trains, models, soldiers, dolls, and a host of interesting toys, but if this retailer did not have a regional reputation for collectable electric trains, they would also have gone away long ago. So, we reap what we sow. If you look around, the hobby shops, hardware stores, music stores, gun shops, and a host of other mom and pop operations are all gone. I blame people trying to squeeze the last dime out of every purchase, not looking down the road to see what happens when the specialty retailers are all gone. Ah, but I’m a dinosaur, squeeze me between to rocks to get the oil out and move on into the brave new world. Sorry, getting a little morose, but I miss the world I grew up in.

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     • admin says:

       May 16, 2015 at 1:55 PM

       George
       Between the big box stores and the internet the mom and pop stores are fighting a losing battle. It is same with the collectibles shows because people can buy things on line instead of going to a show. The only shows that are holding their own are comic book convention. that is because people going to it are seeing it as social event.

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       • George Albany says:

         May 16, 2015 at 4:07 PM

         Maybe we should start to go to soldier shows in uniform? There’s often one or two dealers in uniform, perhaps the rest of us should follow suit and work on the social aspect of the show. I could probably pull that off better than showing up at a comic book show in costume; I don’t look good in spandex!

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   • admin says:

     May 16, 2015 at 1:57 PM

     Erwin
     The rents in New York for business have been always ridiculous. another article talked about how business are being pushed out of China Town of New York. There replacements are franchises like Starbucks.
     The large TRU is closing in January as its rent is going up.

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3. erwin says:

   May 16, 2015 at 2:13 PM

   Stad:you mean time square TRU is closing in January!?
   Yes I heard about china town issue; it was a political and business plan made few years ago ,they want all traditional good Chinese business out to fill with pure(monopoly) places!!.This world will be so boring in few decades. I feel sorry for my daughter as she will not have the last fun we did

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   • admin says:

     May 16, 2015 at 8:16 PM

     Erwin
     Yes it is TRU in Times Square that will close in January. Yes it is sad that everything will be boring, it is one of the reason we have enjoyed going to London even though London is getting the same.

     Reply
4. Wayne W says:

   May 17, 2015 at 5:29 PM

   It is sad that everything is getting generic – I remember as a kid one of the thrills of travelling for me was checking out the different stuff (for me toy soldiers) in the stores and souvenir shops at the various places we visited. Now I notice it’s pretty much the same old “Made in China” (isn’t everything?) stuff with maybe a sticker denoting the place or perhaps a different painting template, but the same cups, saucers and other stuff across the nation. And toy soldiers? Hong Kong knockoffs or BMC/Americana stuff. My wife and I just returned from the Philippines, a little better over there, I suppose, there are still the old-fashioned markets where one can find some unique local products and have fun bargaining with the merchants in the stalls, but shopping malls are springing up in the cities and 7/11s dot the countryside. It’s comforting in a way when you are far from home, to see something familiar; but it’s like I want to travel from Lower Alabama to Chicago to see if their Walmarts are different?

   Sad about FAO Schwartz, I’ve never been there but if not on my bucket list it was one of those places I always thought would be fun to check out. Like Macy’s and Gimbles in New York City, there was a mystic about it almost legendary and I imagine folks from that neck of the woods will miss the Christmas displays. I guess nothing stays the same and change is inevitable – face it, the “spreading chestnut tree” does not have the same meaning for me that it did for my grandparents – but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Still miss the old SEARS Christmas catalogs…

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