While there are undboutedly a number of advantages to living in our world over, say, Afghanistan, I find it terribly disturbing that those advantages can so easily eat up and spit out an institution. I’m talking, of course, about the venerable toy retailer FAO Schwarz.
In case you missed the earlier news, the popular toy retailer FAO Schwarz has filed for bankruptcy. Again. This is the second time this year for the company. If you don’t follow the news closely, you might not know that this isn’t really the famous NYC store alone. You see, last year, retailer The Right Start purchased the 141-year-old icon and changed the corporate name of the company to the more famous moniker.
The problems started when the company couldn’t figure out how to profit from toys. Apparently the flagship Manhattan store never has had much problem with moving the pricey merchandise found within, but it’s a bit tougher to move that same stuff all over the country. While the products in Zany Brainy are definitely fun to look at, they aren’t cheap by anyone’s standards.
So now the company risks fading into oblivion if no white knight appears in the next two weeks or so. At least the name doesn’t belong to the public company. It’s apparently under the control of a foundation set up by the heirs of the founders. I would like to believe that at least the Manhattan store will somehow survive, but even that store will likely be only a shell of it’s former self.