Opening in October, the Dublin store will be the second location in Europe for the brand.
The Irish TV and radio presenter Ryan Tubridy is pictured alongside an FAO ‘toy’ solider.
FAO Schwarz has made public its plans to open a flagship location in Dublin, weeks after ThreeSixty Group’s COO Jan-Eric Kloth exclusively revealed the brand’s expansion plans to Toy World.
The new location will take up an entire floor of Arnotts Department Store, offering everything from plush stuffed animals to the iconic walk-on piano keyboard, which famously featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks film, Big. It will also have a replica of the FAO clock tower, which will activate every hour and feature a toy train and soldiers.
The Irish FAO Schwarz shop comes with an investment of €1m and will employ 40 to 50, according to Donald McDonald, managing director of Brown Thomas Arnotts. Donald said Arnotts had entered into an exclusive partnership with FAO Schwarz and described it as a ‘huge coup’ for the Henry Street store.
“Everything that you have in New York will be recreated in Dublin. We’re talking about customer experience and engagement, people want to be interactive and engaged in the story of the brands,” McDonald said.
Jan-Eric added that it “promises to be an adventure larger-than-life that sparks the imagination in all of us”.
Speaking to Toy World back in April, Jan-Eric said that the ambition is to be represented in the top 15-20 cities across the globe – “every major tourist city” – over the next three-five years. He stated: “These are huge moves – a really exciting journey lies ahead. FAO Schwarz is a global brand with tremendous heritage that stands for experience and wonder, and we are thrilled to continue bringing our unique brand of retail to new markets and consumers.”
