January 31, 2019 | By: Michael Stone, Chairman and Co-founder of Beanstalk
FAO Schwarz, the iconic toy retailer, closed its last store, the New York City Fifth Avenue flagship, in 2015. Dead and gone? Not quite. The buyer of the FAO intellectual property (purchased in 2016), ThreeSixtyGroup, opened a new flagship in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza on Nov. 16, 2018 to much fanfare. Will this brand revival succeed?
Read MoreNovember 12, 2018 | By: Michael Stone, Co-founder and Chairman, Beanstalk
FAO Schwarz is re-opening in mid-November. It sure is interesting observing the toy category these days. Toy sales are robust (although slightly down from last year), an iconic retailer liquidated, retail brands are rising from the dead, new retail formats are being tested, online and offline sales are blurring, and there’s disruption everywhere in the category. It’s been a while since I had so much fun with toys!
Read MoreJune 1, 2017 | By Michael Stone and Allison Ames With the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association announcement that global sales of licensed merchandise grew by just over 4% in 2016 to $262.9 billion, the annual International Licensing Expo took place last week in Las Vegas (May 23-25).
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