FAO Schwarz To Open First Ever European Flagship Store Within Iconic Retailer Selfridges In London

Beloved toy brand reveals plans for 20,000 square-foot permanent location within one of the most famous retail locations in the world, opening in Fall of 2019

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FAO Schwarz

Jan 29, 2019, 09:48 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of FAO Schwarz's successful return to retail in New York City in 2018, the brand is announcing the opening of its first ever European flagship store located within Selfridges' famous and quintessential Oxford Street location in London. The FAO Schwarz store at Selfridges' will occupy over 20,000 square feet of space and feature the full FAO Schwarz collection of toys and unique experiences. The Selfridges location, set to open on November 1, 2019, will be inspired by the New York FAO Schwarz flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with its unique brand of theater and experiential retail.

"We couldn't be more excited to partner with Selfridges to bring FAO Schwarz to London. Similar to FAO, Selfridges is an iconic retail brand that delivers amazing experience and theater to its customers, therefore this was the perfect place for us to be. FAO Schwarz is a global brand that stands for experience and wonder. As we open our doors with our new flagship store in Beijing, China this spring, and a new flagship store at Selfridges in November, we are thrilled to continue bringing our unique brand of retail to new markets and consumers." - Jan-Eric Kloth, COO at ThreeSixty Group.

Signature toys and interactive experiences will further cement FAO Schwarz as a place of imagination and discovery while staying true to key elements of the brand, including the famous clock tower, popular dance-on grand piano, and FAO's newest icon, the rocket ship. The new store at Selfridges will also feature similar experiences to the New York location with in-store demos that instill the wonderment, theater, and "play" that FAO is known for.

"FAO Schwarz is the world's most inventive and inspiring toy store and the perfect partner for Selfridges' reimagined Toy Department. We like to think of Selfridges as a retail playground; the unparalleled product and experience that FAO Schwarz will bring to our Oxford Street store will mean that sentiment has never been more true." – Eleanor Robinson, Director of Accessories, Kidswear & Toys at Selfridges.

One of the new experiences to look forward to, as first introduced at the New York FAO Schwarz flagship, will be the "FAO Raceway" where shoppers are invited to work alongside trained "mechanics" to build remote-control cars piece-by-piece with the option to customize their car's body style, color, wheels, and designs.

FAO Schwarz has long-been a destination of discovery beginning with FAO Schwarz-branded toys as well as products from well-loved toy brands. ThreeSixty Group and Selfridges are jointly working with third-party brands to introduce even more exciting experiences for customers than ever before, and look forward to revealing additional details about this one-of-a-kind partnership in the coming months.

Connect:
Website: www.faoschwarz.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FAO/
Instagram: @FAOSchwarz
Twitter: @FAOSchwarz
#ReturnToWonder

About FAO Schwarz:
FAO Schwarz is one of the oldest, most historic, and iconic toy brands in the world. Founded in 1862, Frederick August Otto Schwarz opened FAO Schwarz, a marvelous bountiful emporium full of extraordinary, one-of-a-kind toys from all over the world. As one of the oldest and most iconic toy brands in the world, FAO Schwarz has always been synonymous with quality and innovation, and offering cherished memories for generations of adults and children alike. The fondness associated with FAO Schwarz is wrapped up in the theatre of it all. It's more than just toys. It's the deep nostalgia for play that came to life and was so often larger than it. A visit to FAO Schwarz meant much more than a trip to a toy store and it will again.

About ThreeSixty Group:
ThreeSixty Group was founded in Southern California in 2001 and today has offices across the globe. The company designs, sources, and distributes consumer products across diverse categories under a portfolio of owned and licensed brands. Their portfolio includes more than 20 brands (internally developed, acquired, and licensed) including the iconic FAO Schwarz, Sharper Image, Wembley, and Discovery brands. The brands and products are sold in over 70,000 retail doors in the U.S. and across the world.

About Selfridges:
The business was founded by American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1909 and is widely regarded as the first and best example of a modern department store. Harry Gordon Selfridge ran the store himself until he retired in 1940. After several ownerships the company was de-merged from the Sears Group in 1998 and floated on the London Stock Exchange. In 2003 the Weston family purchased Selfridges and under their ownership Selfridges has become the epitome of a global destination for fashion, luxury and extraordinary retail experiences. In June 2010 Selfridges was named Best Department Store in the World by IGDS and retained the title for an unprecedented three times consecutively. In May 2016, Selfridges won the inaugural award for the World's Best Sustainability Campaign at the IGDS world summit for its long-term commitment campaign, Buying Better Inspiring Change which it launched earlier that year. At the IGDS World Department Store Forum in Toronto in 2017, Selfridges won the Best Department Store Campaign for its themed campaign EveryBODY dealing with the beauty and strength of the body beyond conventions. The store reclaimed the best department store title again in 2018. Selfridges has four stores; in London, Birmingham and Manchester (Trafford Centre, and Exchange Square) all celebrating exciting experiences and new product destination launches. Selfridges also operates an international website that delivers within the UK and to over 130 countries, trading in eight currencies.
www.selfridges.com

For press inquiries:
U.S. Contact: The Door, [email protected]
UK Contact: Megan Wycoff, [email protected]