What a treat for parents and kids across Canada! Yesterday, Hudson’s Bay announced that this month they are bringing iconic toy brand FAO Schwarz to Canada, with pop-up spaces at all its stores across Canada and online at thebay.com. Arriving just in time to shop for the 2018 holiday season, this wonderland for kids of all ages will have pop-up shops ranging from 300 to 1200 square feet and will feature everything they are famous for: from oversized plush animals to classic toy train sets to the famous dance-on piano. If you’ve ever been to the FAO Schwarz store in New York City, you will know how exciting this news is.
“There is something special and nostalgic about shopping for a perfect toy to bring joy to someone you love, said Alison Coville, President, Hudson’s Bay. “We are thrilled to launch the FAO Schwarz brand in Canada and bring that sense of magic and wonder to our customers.”
The linking of Hudson’s Bay and FAO Schwarz is a perfect match. Both are old established companies with reputations for quality, service, and exclusivity. Hudson’s Bay was incorporated in 1670 and is North America’s oldest company. FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 and is one of the oldest and most iconic toy brands in the world.
Hudson’s Bay re-entered the toy business in 2016 and is working with Canadian distributor ACI brands to introduce FAO Schwarz to Canada. Until the famous FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue flagship store closed in 2015, it welcomed more than three million visitors a year. The brand was acquired in 2016 by ThreeSixty Group Inc., a leading provider of branded consumer products to the nation’s largest retailers. A new FAO Schwarz flagship store will open this fall at 30 Rockefeller Center.
Images via RockIt Promotions