FAO Schwarz

FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and retail chain. The company features high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy retailer in the United States, founded by its namesake, Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in 1862 in Baltimore before moving to New York City, where it has had several locations since 1870. The dance-on piano, made famous by the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big, brought international attention to the brand. The company filed for bankruptcy twice in 2003 before temporarily shuttering the Fifth Avenue location in January 2004. In May 2009, Toys "R" Us acquired FAO Schwarz. In 2015, it permanently closed the Fifth Avenue location. ThreeSixty Group later acquired the brand, and opened a new FAO Schwarz location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in November 2018. In 2019, ThreeSixty opened locations in Chicago, Beijing, London, and Dublin. The "FAO Schwarz" brand name and trademarks are owned by the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation and exclusively licensed to the ThreeSixty Group, which owns and operates the retail locations.