FAO Schwarz is one of the most legendary toy stores in the world, located on NYC’s swanky Fifth Avenue shopping district. And now comics will be added to their product mix, via a boutique operated by Midtown Comics. The mini-boutique will offer graphic novels, hard cover books, apparel, collectibles, and more.
“We are very pleased to be invited to bring our brand to FAO Schwarz, and to share the excitement of the world of comics, graphic novels, and related collectibles with those who might not often come across them,” said Gerry Gladston, co-owner, in a statement.
We don’t have any idea how mini this boutique will be, but we’re sure Torsten will bring back pictures!
UPDATE: Aaaaand here’s a picture, courtesy of Thor Parker:
More here.
I don’t understand. FAO Schwartz is a store that caters to children. Why on earth would you sell comic books in a place like that?
Snap.
That said, this is exactly the kind of thing I want us to be doing. Half the battle is just getting the book in front of people.
pleased to be invited to bring our brand to FAO Schwarz…
LOL.
This reminds me of when the struggling NEWBERRYS in the local mall let a couple of Comics and Cards guys set up tables and longboxes inside their store… and became the neighborhood’s FIRST/only Comics shop, which got to be quite popular with the afterschool crowd from the High School across the street.
They later opened up a proper store in the same mall when the NEWBERRYS got shuttered.
Excellent, another place to spend my lunch hour! If I can get past all the tourists crowding around the Apple store, that is.
AWESOME for them. They are a great store and having a shop inside FAO is a brilliant move. I wish them all the luck and much success for thinking outside the box.
FAO Schwartz? Toys R Us? When is Walmart jumping on board?
FAO Schwartz is owned by Toys я Us.
The Toys R Us in Times Square has an impressive Avengers display (right near the Barbie Temple). Plus they have mini-displays of various licenses, on the other side of the T-Rex.
FAO Schwartz does have other boutiques in the store, including a very popular Muppet Whatnot workshop, where customers can design their own Whatnot (generic Muppet character) for $99.99 .
http://www.fao.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=11534102
FAO hasn’t yet posted the PR, so who knows when the boutique will pop up. But it is a brilliant move, so long as it’s easy to find… that store can be a maze.
Hey everyone,
The Midtown Comics boutique in FAO is now open! It’s located on the 2nd floor right as you get off the escalator. You can’t miss it! We have some photos up over on the Midtown Comics blog: http://blog.midtowncomics.com/midtown-comics-opens-comic-book-mini-boutique-fao-schwarz-nyc/5492/
Thanks for all the kind words!
Gee, isn’t that just the sort of “niche hobby shop” Mark Waid can’t wait to get away from?
I, on the other hand, think this is a tremendous development!